Hey everyone!
It’s been incredibly long since I’ve posted, but it’s due to good things coming into play. Life has been full of hustle and bustle; grad parties on the weekends, full days of work during the week, and of course long runs, cooking and baking…. what else can you expect!
I’ve had a lot on my mind lately, and it has to deal with changes coming into play as I begin my journey moving forward into college, as well as life after college. I’m leaving home, and am starting to walk down the path of what I may do for the rest of my life; and that’s incredibly scary! But while it’s scary, it’s also incredibly exciting and I can’t wait to share my view on change.
A big change has been made in my diet revolving meat. Although I have eaten meat in the past, I am picking up on the “reduc-itarian” lifestyle (eating less meat whenever I can!). I’m ultimately working towards a vegetarian life as I move on into life, for ethical reasons. And while I do see myself taking this lifestyle on full force, I refuse to push it onto others, so don’t be weary of a “preacher” over here! 🙂
While that has been a big change for me, it’s also been an incredible change for my family. As many know, I struggled with anorexia a few years back, and at the time I was a vegetarian. As my parents had to witness such a dark time in my life, they were very cautious as I brought up the idea of using alternative protein sources. I mention this as a nice ladder into what I’m talking about in this post: moving forward.
Life is scary; no doubt, life is a challenge every single day from the moment you wake up. No matter how well things are going for you, each day is filled with decisions and actions to be made. Whether these may be easy or hard, they require time and thought. And things happen; they do. Even when something may be so small you barely notice it. These things build up over time, creating a whole bundle of things.
That’s what happened to me. Over time, I let those tiny things build up, and they led to some rough times. The thing is though, I don’t regret those little things for a moment. Without them, I would not be able to say that I have moved forward from hardship. I wouldn’t be able to say that I’ve made so many wonderful changes within my life.
This is a huge part of what change is all about. It creates the realm of moving forward, and because I struggled, because I had to change the way I think, the way I treat myself, the way I love my body, I am ready to move forward.
Graduating made a huge impact on my mindset for moving into the future. Sure, it was a high school graduation, and I was ready to move on. But, it was also a huge step away from the past that I had left behind, including my past struggles, and then new found type of self. I’m going into every day feeling more excited for the challenges life brings me; because I know that even while struggles are there, you can beat them too.
I just had orientation at school, and for the first time, I sensed that my parents were comfortable with the idea of me going away. I knew they were nervous about relapse, about anxieties, pressures. Yet, this time around, they felt comfortable. In those two days, I saw that I am no longer the daughter with the eating disorder. I am the daughter leaving the nest; I am the daughter that they CAN let go, because we’ve all come farther from the past than ever before.
I share these moments of change in my life and these moments of looking forward instead of looking back not to ramble. I share them because everyone deserves chances to move on in their lives, and everyone deserves the excitement of changing. While this is a small glimpse into what’s been going on, I hope this post lets you know that it is possible to live after struggle.
Just a brief mindfulness post I wanted to share; let me know if you have any views on change yourself!
balancing positive strides 