Who would've guessed...

This post is about running.

You will not believe that since the time I had to take the mile run test in middle school, it was a fear of mine. I hated running with a passion. I couldn't do it. My body wasn't trained for it, or able to do it in the "acceptable Grade A" time for a girl of my age. Let me say this, that standard is stupid. I tried my best and ran like a 300 pound kid, I would be gasping for air, ready to murder my gym teacher. I seriously couldn't. But I could dance for hours. I was trained as a sprinter, and being 4'11" playing tennis, really made that clear. I hated being judged and graded for something my body was not meant to accomplish at the time.

Now, a senior in college, I am able to run/jog/walk 3 miles up hills, across bridges, through the forest, in the snow, with the wind against me. I trained on the treadmill for 3 full weeks (every day) before accomplishing the feat of getting my ass outdoors. Outdoors is where I begin to get nervous. My feet sweat, I can't breathe as well. It was a problem. I started with about 1.75 miles around my neighborhood, until my good friend (runner friend!) took me through a path of hers, with which I had falled in love for a total of 3 miles.

My goal now is to run a 5K in Pittsburgh by the time I graduate. The Pittsburgh Pirates have one on April 13, which I am planning on participating in! I literally would've never guessed back in high school I would be running in any sort of event. It may be 3.2 miles, and I am sure I can accomplish that, my goals until that are to just be able to jog it the entire time without stopping. That has proven to be the hardest for me. I love interval training, so I am very much used to walk/runs/sprints. But, if I got this far after completing my fourth week, I trust myself to be able to reach my goal by graduation.

Added to Senior Year Bucket List: Run a 5K. Signed up & ready to go.

Late night thanking

As I continue to gather more ideas for my #senioryearbucketlist and post, I'm going to interject with a little late night thanking.
I'm going to start them with a bunch of cliches, be prepared:
- It is true what they say, it's not about what you know, but WHO you know. It's incredible how networking can change your path in life.
- It's all about being at the right place, at the right time. Seriously, without a little *luck*, I wouldn't be where I am and as content as I am, to know who I know and to do what I do.
- It's no joke the quality over quantity is a big deal. Here is a phenomenal example: I have an important tweet to share with the world, but I may not have relatively many followers, but WHO and the TYPE of followers I have are very influential people! [S/O to my RT followers, I appreciate your influence]
- You better believe it, but hard work ~definitely~ beats talent when talent doesn't perform. You absolutely cannot just fly by. Life can be incredibly fair in a sense of karma if you expect things to be dropped in front of you.

Lastly, I am incredibly thankful and acknowledge that to have all of the opportunities I am given is very special indeed. It's a combination of the aforementioned cliches & their themes and without each, I wouldn't be as lucky, special, happy, & content with my life. As a senior in college, I couldn't ask for better friends, coworkers, boss, supporters, jobs, internship, & student groups.

Peace - Love - Happiness

*picture for inspiration!*