Pushing Through to Inspire

I will be the first person to admit that I can be a real quitter. It is probably part my large imagination, unrealistic expectations, and general laziness that keep me from accomplishing my goals, but nonetheless- a lot of things that I want to do get thrown by the wayside. I’m talking musical instruments, trips, room decorating, diets, and the list could go on and on with dead hobbies.

Academically, I have done everything that I set out to do and more. I graduated from high school, went to college directly from there, studied abroad in England, graduated from undergraduate a semester early, and headed to graduate school directly from that. My goals in school seem oddly simple and routine to set, work towards, and reach. I do the work, grumble about hating to do the work, procrastinate until the last minute, and somehow it all turns out beautifully.

So, why am I writing this?

Well, it’s time to quit quitting. As someone who hopes to foster a positive environment and inspire my students to achieve their dreams, I have to begin to reach into the extracurricular. I think that I need it for my ability to be a role model and for my own personal gain. So the question is, what am I going to do?

I have decided to try and do the thing that is most outside my regular personality and skill set: running.

Not being able to run is something that I have always wanted to change about myself. It is a constant source of heckling from my athletic friends and it has inhibited me from participating in a lot of sports and games as a camp counselor that I wanted to join in on. I’m not sure if I am just extremely out of shape or if I am just doing it wrong. I know that sounds silly, but last time I went running it was in the morning and I was only out for 30 minutes. By the afternoon, I had the flu and I was so sick I couldn’t leave my bed for about three weeks (a story my athletic friends again found hilarious).

To turn this around, I plan to start training for the 2013 Disney Princess Half-Marathon in Disney World. The race is held in Disney and it is 13.1 miles circling the park. I like the idea of having something whimsical and fun to work towards when I know the training will be painful and dull. Each runner must do each mile in 16 minutes or under, but they say to train for under in case you need breaks on the way. I’m not sure quite yet what I am going to do as far as training, but I hope to go to a gym soon and talk to a trainer about exercises that will help me endure the race. I think this will be an excellent way to prove my strength to myself and others and it will give me a fun way to show children that anything is possible.

To leave you all off, here is a picture I found from an unknown source that sums me up as of now:

I'm more than ready to look like the top picture!