Good Things in Hard Times

the group workout all in deep squats!

I wish I liked exercising more than I do. I enjoy going on walks and I love biking, but running, lifting weights, and high-intensity workouts are forms of movement I only crave occasionally. They are often more of a chore than something I have fun doing.

Even though I feel this way about many forms of exercise, I can’t deny the wonderful effects it has on my mental state.

When I came home from California back in March, I had found myself left with a hefty amount of time on my hands despite still having classes and homework to keep up with. I filled a lot of this time doing something I didn’t do much of in California: exercise.

Not only was I biking and walking and doing home workouts, my neighbor, who is a fitness instructor/trainer, started a neighborhood group workout class called ‘bows and blessings (my brother Alexander’s coronavirus-themed greeting) that I also started attending at the beginning of quarantine.

I was one of the first few people to join this little group that’s held Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and I had the pleasure of watching it grow. Even though the workouts were challenging and based on high-intensity interval training, I enjoyed them immensely.

I owe my enjoyment of these rigorous workout classes to the group environment they are held in. If I had to do these workouts alone, I would either a) not enjoy it very much b) not finish it or c) not do it at all. Having others who are struggling with you really makes all the difference.

I remember one particular day at the beginning of quarantine I looked around at everybody participating and couldn’t help smiling at what I was seeing. The little community I had found amidst the pandemic was unexpected and sweet.

About a month and a half into quarantine, my neighbor’s girlfriend—who is a dance instructor—came into town and not only did my neighborhood have high intensity workouts to enjoy together, but also hip-hop/cardio dance classes that involved a lot of jumping around, clapping, and shaking our booties. These classes not only made me sweat, but also laugh and smile. They were SO much fun.

I’m not a huge fan of COVID-19, but this little workout group has served as quite the silver lining. It has brought about joy in a frustrating and unsettling time and a sense of community among my neighborhood when we needed it the most. If not for the pandemic, something like this would never have happened. My neighbors would still be strangers and I wouldn’t be in as good of shape as I am now. Despite all the madness of COVID-19, this workout group is something to celebrate.

Something else I’ve been celebrating during this pandemic is my job. Even though many are out of work or are struggling to find a job, the pandemic actually made it easier for me to get one, and for that, I am immensely grateful. And what’s better, it’s one that I like!

In my last post, I touched on my new job as a barista and—to my surprise—how much fun it’s been. I always thought being a barista would be overwhelming and stressful, but it’s been (mostly) smooth sailing since I started.

I imagined the learning curve to be quite steep, but making drinks isn’t at all difficult, it’s actually quite fun! Somewhat of an art form, even.

The job is also not as stressful as I imagined. In my head, a barista is a job full of hustle and bustle and screaming customers and intense pressure to get drinks out in a timely manner. And while that happens occasionally, amidst a pandemic people are less inclined to go out, meaning business hasn’t been as hectic as it could be, which is great for someone like me, who is a bit new to the job.

I also have great coworkers. We talk and laugh and try different coffees and specialty drinks together and understand the struggle of coming in at 5:00 am to open (which really isn’t as bad as you might think).

I’m also grateful for my free time. Even though there are days when I feel like I have too much, I try to embrace this lack of busyness because it will make itself my friend again once school starts up. For now, I’m going to prop my feet up and enjoy the abundant rest I am blessed to have.

The world is a crazy place and I often get overwhelmed with all that is happening. One of my solutions is to focus my attention and energy on the good in my life and take note of what I’m grateful for.

A little gratitude goes a long way.

A Lil’ Update

As time goes on, it seems as though each of my blogs gets more and more spread out. When I was away at school, I had the somewhat lazy excuse of being busy with homework and writing papers. But my semester finished on the first of May and the only thing that’s been keeping me from writing this blog post is feeling like I have nothing to say. 

Running my blog while in Slovenia, especially at the beginning, was about easy as anything gets. There was so much happening all at once and I had more ideas than I knew what to do with.

Now, with school being out and me being home, I’ve struggled to find inspiration. I think part of me dreaded the thought of writing something after spending my days poring over essays for school, and not having a specific idea in mind made my desire to write diminish further.

Another reason I kept my distance from the keyboard for so long was Harry Potter. Over the course of May, I spent a large sum of my days reading the series for the first time. I had high expectations for this series (how could I not?), and was delighted to find that it is one of the few things that lives up to its hype. I cannot tell you how many books, TV shows, and movies I’ve heard others rave about only to find them not living up to my expectations.

Not only did I become a Potterhead during the month of May, I also became a barista! That’s right, I’m a certified barista at Starbucks and work at the location inside Market Street.

This job has been nothing short of a blessing. It sort of just fell into my lap. I knew I would need a job this summer and I had my doubts that I would be able to find one amidst the pandemic, but God is faithful and never fails to provide.

I never pictured myself as a barista, in fact, the prospect of being one was a bit frightening to me, but I have loved every minute of working at Starbucks. I don’t know what it is but there is just something so fun about making drinks!

Now it’s June. I’ve finished reading Harry Potter and watching Downton Abbey, and the only thing left to keep me occupied is my job. While I wait on the library to process my request for the Lord of the Rings, I am hoping to write more and I hope you’ll be hearing more from me on this blog in the future.

As much as I love writing, keeping up the blog remains challenging. I find it hard to not beat myself up for “slacking.” It’s hard to find a balance. Do I let myself off the hook or should I be more disciplined in honing my craft? Should I force myself to write or wait until inspiration strikes?

I’ve come to realize that waiting around for something to write about is not the solution. I keep believing that I have nothing worth saying at the moment, but this is simply not true, and I’ve let this lie keep me from putting words on screen for far too long.

Even in the mundane moments of life, there are lessons to be learned and truths to be discovered. It sounds cheesy, but it’s true.

All that said, I plan to blog more consistently from here on out. This post has reminded me how much I love writing and has renewed my desire to stick with it even when ideas aren’t flowing as naturally as I would like them to. I know I won’t always be perfect, but the prospect of more writing in the future has me excited!

If you made it to the end, thank you for reading. It means more than you know!