Releasing Dopamine

Sunrise Hike w/ Friend

If you had asked me five years ago to go to the gym, work out, play sports or run, I would have said no. In high school, I had always had it in the back of my mind that I should be staying active, eating healthy and be productive, but I was so lazy. Of course, I enjoyed sports at school when I was “forced” to participate, but once I was home, I was just home. Not until I started my first year of college did I realize how important it is to add at the bare minimum, a thirty minute block of physical activity into your day. 

With the Ambassadors @ UCSB Adventure Center

The culture of Santa Barbara may have just really settled in on me; however, I have been more active in the past year than I’ve ever been in my entire life… willingly! Luckily for me, the trail down to R Beach and the Ellwood Monarch Butterfly Reserve is literally my backyard so I started out with running on that. Obviously, nothing happens easily and I struggled with how out of shape I was, BUT always reminded myself that I was one day closer to becoming a healthier me!

I ran the trail for about a good 2.5 months and when I turned 18, I signed up for a membership at my local gym! It was great. AC was running, I was running, but it was an entirely new element. Seeing these gymgoers and how intensely they lifted weights or were able to run a mile without breaking a sweat definitely intimidated me and in a way, discouraged me from trying harder. I thought to myself, “I’d never be able to do that.” Inevitably, I got out of the slump and to this day, I am still attending that gym, FitBit and all!

At the gym.

Being healthy is being happy. I’m in a fitness group page with my family members on Facebook and every day, we encourage one another to get up and do something. I have become such a brighter individual because I feel more energized, stronger both mentally and physically. I am far from where I want to be, but now I’m 100x more confident in who I am and what I can do. So take a hike, join a cycling class, go climb rock walls!

See you next post,

Chey

Currently listening to Let’s Dance to Joy Division by The Wombats