Sore from....Bowling???

So, like many American women, I am trying (again) to get healthy. And like many women (I hope I'm not alone) this is never an easy task. I tend to get really pumped up about my new fitness and health plan! I get rid of any junk food I have in the house, create an exercise schedule, decide on my goals and pin all the right things on Pinterest. I. Am. Ready.

And it usually goes well for a few days or a few weeks if I'm really ambitious! But then the exercise gets less and less and the pasta and bread start sounding oh so yummy. Typical. I have gone up and down with my weight since I was in 9th grade which was when I first gained a significant amount of weight. And by significant, I mean the most I have ever weighed to this day! I eventually lost the weight and then regained it right on schedule for Freshman year of college.

And Up and Down and Up and Down I go...

Well in actuality, my weight has stayed somewhat stable since about the age of 23, at least within 5-10 pounds. And I often tend to think that I'm "supposed" to be this weight. But in reality, I think I have just settled.

So recently, I have given my health plan a kick-start. However, this time I'm taking a different approach, a holistic approach. The plan is:

~Eat healthy, mostly un-processed foods
~Exercise 3-4 times per week

~Yoga once a week ( I know this IS exercise but it's different...)
~No drinking alcohol during the week and VERY limited amounts on the weekends
~Attending weekly counseling sessions to stay emotionally healthy
~Writing and Reading more are actually parts of my health plan...emotional and mental health!

Well, that's what I've got so far. And so far, so good. I'm in approximately week 4! WooHoo! I'm already feeling better and because I am feeling emotionally healthy, I have a more optimistic view of my physical health.

Random fact...I AM currently SORE from BOWLING! haha. Now can you tell how in-shape I was?! (or wasn't...) I went bowling 2 days ago and played 3.5 games. Not only is my right forearm a bit sore but my left thigh/hamstring aches! Too many lunges...Maybe I need to fix up my form? :)

What do YOU do to stay physically and emotionally healthy?

Peace xx
Tara

High School Re-Do

It's the 5th week of the new school year and things have been going quite well! This is now my 3rd year at this school, so I know my way around and I'm actually pretty popular. Sweet! 

Not only am I in the school choir but I've also been on the Student Council for the past 2 years. I walk around the halls confidently as most students smile and say "Hi" when they see me pass them. After school most days I can be found in the school's gym working out or taking a yoga class. Every high school student's dream!

Life is good. 

If only it could have been this good while I was ACTUALLY IN HIGH SCHOOL!! No, I'm not a student, I'm the School Counselor and a teacher of grades 6-9. 

But I had this thought the other day. Am I trying to re-live or re-do my high school years living vicariously through my students? I think a part of me is. 

During high school (during the years 1999-2003 for me) I wasn't any of the things I listed above, except I have always been in the school choir...but that was more of a dorky thing. I had moved from a small, private school to the large, public high school. I was overwhelmed! 

I'm naturally quite shy and definitely a home-body so making new friends in high school wasn't the easiest for me. I started 9th grade as a quiet, chubby girl who loved *NSYNC and Britney Spears. I was a great student but didn't participate in extra-curricular events. Most weekends, I hung out with my family, especially my 2 sisters. How cool is that?!?!

I was the girl who wore pajama pants every day to school while sporting black, boys' band t-shirts, supporting Rancid, Good Charlotte and Less Than Jake. I got my lip and nose pierced and decided that I didn't care to make friends with anyone at my school because they weren't cool anyways! A few years, many tears, and a bout of depression later, I was able to pick myself up again. 

Fast-Forward TEN YEARS LATER (OMG!!!! I'm getting so OLD!) and I still look back on high school as an awkward and overall, LAME time for me. Maybe I was a late bloomer?? I didn't have a first date or drink until college (sophomore year that is) and adjusting to that was a bumpy road.

It wasn't until I became an R.A. (resident assistant) my senior year of college when everything started to come full circle. It had never occurred to me that because of what I went through, I could now RELATE to people, especially those newbie freshmen! In fact, this year-long stint is what gave me the inspiration to become a school counselor and it resulted in giving me 2 of my life-long best friends who were my freshmen residents! 

So now...here I am, given the chance to RE-DO my high school years, to some extent. And not only that, but I have the opportunity to find those shy, awkward girls and boys and perhaps give them some hope that high school is only a brief period in our lives. We will change and won't always have to be remembered as we were those 4 years. 

Look at me. I'm 28 years old. Living and working in a foreign country and traveling to many others, while doing work that I really care about. I have earned my bachelor and master degrees. I've got a great relationship and wonderful friends: some new, some old. And hey, I wasn't even on the Facebook invite list to my 10 year high school reunion that went down this past summer! So while I may still be remembered (or forgotten) by some as a dorky-nobody, I have created my present to suit me, putting old reputations behind me and forging a future that can be anything I put my heart and mind to...Regardless of those weird years, long ago.

Comment below and Share how YOU have changed since High School!!

Peace xx
Tara

Me in the center with my 2 sisters and Best friends during H.S.

Loner Tara...Typical during H.S. and Early College Years

The 2 Best Girls I met while being their R.A...Still my best friends Today!

Me today- 28, happy and confident :)

The First

Aaaahhh...the first, daunting post! I have so many ideas for different blog posts, but it's always toughest to know how to begin!

Well, first I'd like to say "Welcome to my blog!"

Secondly, you may ask (and I've asked myself) "What's the purpose of this blog?"

I love to write but even more so, I love to share my views and opinions on a variety of different topics! This will serve as a platform for me to share on a variety of topics from fashion to travel, to social issues and my daily life living abroad.

I hope you enjoy and feel free to send me your feedback!

As a counselor and blogger, the underlying will always be to remember that YOU are the ONLY YOU, so be the BEST you can BE.

The title of my blog~ Imagine, Go Confidently, Live~ was inspired by my favorite quote of all from Henry David Thoreau...

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you imagined."

Peace,

Tara