On "Dieting"

Well it sucks.

My mom and I are doing the Master Cleanse. It is a way for us to kick start our summer healthy eating and hopefully to reset our diets. It's day one, and I can say that it is getting increasingly difficult not to eat. I have never done this before, not sure if I would ever do it again, but I have always said to try everything at least once. So that is what we are doing.

I have this opinion that dieting should be less about losing weight, and more about feeling healthy. Everything should be about feeling healthy, and that is our goal this summer. My guess is that eating that wonderful cafeteria food for about 9 months has thrown my body out of balance. So here I am. Healthy eating again. The best part about this is that I am doing this with my mom. Having support when dieting is key. They tend to keep you on track when you really want to eat the piece of pie that it is the kitchen right now.

But I am hungry. Which is not fun, so I am going to enjoy my lemonade diet and cross my fingers. But remember to diet for the right reasons. It is better to be healthy and skinny than just driving to be a size 2. Which with my hips probably would never happen anyway.

Happy eating ;)
m.

On Gas in the Car.

It seems to the worlds most touchy topic. Okay, well maybe not that bad. But, it's still not fun.

Probably like most teenagers I share a car with my parents, and whenever the topic of gas money comes up I immediately find myself getting awkward (or more awkward). My parents have been very generous with the giving of gas money in the past, what with three children ahead of me, they have distributed many a dollar to make sure that we can always get where we are going. And I appreciate that. Greatly. I don't know what I would have done without that support.

But where I get defensive is when I pay for my own gas and my parents use it.

Its contradictory and hypocritical of me to say that, it feels a little like that. But, I have had a job sense I turned 16 and with that job obviously comes a pay check. It was never much, but enough to help me have some fun on the side and to fill up my gas tank (although I must admit I did not start paying for gas until about my senior year). See when teenagers don't make a lot of money, a good chunk of that hard earned money goes into gas so that we can go to the movies, or the beach, or out to dinner. Ya know, normal stuff.

Lacking the grace of the years, maybe I do not know what to say about this topic to fully portray what I am feeling. I know about the give and take, and the balance of  my parents raising a child and me growing up and being able to support myself. I know that I am lucky to have been given gas money and a car in the first place. But parents, understand that when we do try and support ourselves and be independent, it is unfortunate when what we try to contribute it taken away, especially when we don't have much to contribute in the first place. We try.

I might just be complaining about my shrinking bank account. That's wholly possible, but fellow teens, try and understand what our parents give us so that we can be the best we can be. It is a balance. I just need to get used to sharing what my parents have been sharing for years.

On getting up early

The stereotype of college students being nocturnal was always one that I refused to defy. Being on a college campus and having roommates tends to keep us up late, with dorms and common rooms, there is not a lot of hope for going to sleep early. Yet here is the misconception. I have every intention of going to bed early. I would trade my dancing shoes and party dress for a pair of slippers and pajamas any day at anytime. And I try but, mostly I fail. 

Now, it is summer. Now, I have a job. Now, I have people relying on me to be up early and be aware of what is actually happening. We do not tolerate the zombie college students at our place of employment, rather the enthusiastic, excited ones that aren't sluggish throughout the day.  

It is something that I enjoy actually. Rising early with my parents, snagging a cup of coffee and driving to work with the windows down, smelling like sunscreen, and listening to my loud music. But it starts my day with a bang rather than a sizzle. Gives purpose. 

I am a college student who loves to wake up early. Call me crazy, but nothing is better than actually living my day, than sleeping it away. 

Rise and Shine. 

m.