Writing about thinking about writing

i realized during a discussion tonight that i’d never articulated one of the benefits blogging has for me. this is especially pertinent because i used to rip heavily on blogging. “people don’t care about what you have to say, blogmaster.” that goes for me, too. except at least i know it.

(which is — in an of itself — another benefit, now that i think about it.)

anyway, the real benefit blogging’s had for me — aside from helping me voice the adventures and angst i feel to some degree or another each day — is that it’s made me capture otherwise benign events and perceive them differently.

for instance, being stuck in traffic is a topic no one gives a shit about. we all get stuck in traffic, and it always sucks. but occasionally, there’s a great story living within; either catching someone mid-nose pick, or maybe watching a terrifying road rage episode unfold before your eyes on the jersey turnpike, for example.

blogging’s given me many stop-and-think-about-what’s-happening-
so-you-can-derive-meaning-to-write-about-it-later-and-
remember-it-until-the-interwebs-dies moments.

looking forward to oh so many more.

Possessive fruits and veggies

poorpossession

Published in:  on December 12, 2007 at 11:02 am Leave a Comment
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Teaching aerobics = rad

someone pays me to work out. they pay me to sit in front of a class and lead participants through varying levels of resistance workouts on a bike. i get to force everyone to listen to my music. i sweat, i get paid, i listen to good tunes, i talk with kickass people, then i come home. and blog.

they also pay me to teach people kickboxing. the cardio kind.  billy blanks infomercial style. i get everyone acting like chuck norris for 60 minutes. only actually being chuck norris is cooler.  that in itself is amazing.

i love when people see progress; but moreso, i love knowing that i’m helping to facilitate that. whatever personal goals people have for themselves, i feel awesome knowing that i’m helping to push them toward reaching those goals. they feel excited to tell me.  it’s that kind of direct impact that fuels me.

i love listening to their stories and suggesting ways to keep their routines from going stale. i’ve always participated in group sports, and had a shit ton of fun doing it, so it’s natural that i seek a community-type atmosphere to keep fit. i like creating that atmosphere for others, so they want to return over and over. and they do.

i may not have leg warmers — only knee-high striped baseball socks, which i rock, by the way — but i do have the enthusiasm and inspiration to help people a couple times a week to learn something new and have fun, too.

after years of having and being around women with eating disorders through gymnastics, diving and beyond — oh and terrible self esteem thanks to media and social expectations for beauty — it’s inexplicably amazing to be comfortable in my own skin again.

helping others find the same is just marvelous.