It's a Monday

Today was just a typical Monday. Waking up early, going through the motions of the day, just doing ok on a Trig quiz, having problems submitting a lab report online, etc. It was so easy for me this morning to just find the negative in everything that was happening, and I just felt so sluggish and negative. But once I was able to grab a cup of coffee on a break between classes (the Starbucks had their dark roast brewing---my favorite!!), I had time to sit in the library, look at a little Pinterest, and just be reminded to appreciate every moment of every day.

Yesterday, I ventured out to Trader Joe's with a friend and picked up some fresh flowers for my apt. Coming home to those this evening was just one beautiful moment of my day.

I got out of my Chem lab nearly an hour early, and had a chance to talk to my dad on my walk across campus back home. Recently I've been more inclined to walk everywhere instead of catching a bus, because I love getting to enjoy the beautiful campus of FSU. In just a little more than a year, I'll be graduating and I won't have the opportunity to just walk around and soak in the beauty of this campus, and I'm not looking forward to that day at all. Because I got home earlier than planned, I did some yoga with my roommate, cooked a healthy dinner, called one of my best friends who lives in Michigan, planned our Spring Break plans (DISNEY WORLD HOLLA), did my taxes, and got a head start on homework/studying! What started out as a bum Monday has actually turned out to be pretty fantastic. Here it is, not even 9 o'clock, and I feel like I've been able to get so much done today. Tonight I have plans with my roomie to do our nails, pop some popcorn, and watch Lilo and Stitch (whey they say Netflix becomes the college student's best friend...they weren't kidding).

Which brings me to one of the main reasons why I started this blog post tonight---about three weeks ago, my roommate, Alexis and I, had a crazy idea to start routinely doing yoga and HIIT circuits 4 or 5 nights a week. Our very first yoga workout consisted of us falling all over the place, not being able to complete a chaturanga, and huffing and puffing over every move. We embarked on this lifestyle change to just tone up a bit, lose a little bit of tummy flab, and feel better and more energized. Today was the first day I really started noticing the changes. My arms are starting to get more definition, I did my first "real" pushup yesterday (all the way down and up....with no knees!!!....which is something I have never done before in my life), Alexis and I can do almost a complete chaturanga with very controlled arms, and we have more energy at the end of the routine. I've also started drinking around 2.5-3 Liters of water a day, and I've seen an improvement in my skin. I don't have as much dark circles under my eye, and I really do feel like I have more energy throughout the day! Plus, this has been such a fun thing to do together, and I truly look forward to my workouts every day knowing that I get to complete them with a friend!

I'm sure that there will be many of times this semester where I feel discouraged, stressed, tired, and just want to give in and give up. But I hope to carry on the mentality of the way I'm feeling tonight--accomplished, determined, and strong--all the way out over the next few months. Hope everyone is having a great week!

"We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure.[a] This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair.We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed." 

--2 Corinthians 4:7-9

Also I still don't know how I feel about this......