Bring on the New Year! (It’s halfway through January but who’s counting?)

I’ve made a lot of New Years resolutions for 2015, and I feel that many of them are obtainable.  The problem that I’ve had in the past with resolutions is that there’s always the “oh this one time won’t make a difference” or, “well I’ve done REALLY good these past couple of days…” I mean, it’s easy to make excuses when the only people that know what you’ve committed to is your self and whoever else could read your mind at that particular moment.

Anyways, I’ve decided to create a blog (which also happens to be a resolution) to keep myself accountable this upcoming year, and as a way to document all of the cool (and not so cool) things that I have going on this year. I’ve decided that my theme is to create a healthier and happier me.  I’ve been struggling with a lot of self doubt and an overwhelming amount of self-consciousness that follows me around daily, so I’ve put a lot of thought into how I can combat it, and I figure that this is a bounding start. So here it is: my proclamation of countless resolutions, and my explanations of why, and how I plan on accomplishing them. Maybe someone reading might get inspired, or feel like riding along with me on my journey.

• Healthy Eating: This resolution was strategically thought up while I was laying in bed New Years morning half asleep craving McDonalds breakfast and a big coffee from Starbucks… gross. A couple of friends and I that morning decided that we were going to give up McDonalds for the entire year, which was an excellent idea I thought.  But then I got home and realized how much junk I’ve been putting in my body since the beginning of summer last year.  I find myself waking up in the morning without breakfast because I’m in a rush to make my 8am classes, grabbing a breakfast sandwich and a coffee at 10 almost every morning.  Not to mention that I was going out for lunches and suppers more often then I care to admit… and not places where there are healthy options either. So I decided to up the anti a little bit:
• Breakfast Every Day: I’ve been really enjoying this part actually.  I’ve started pre making smoothie packs that I can just wake up, throw in the blender with some juice or water, and head off on my way.  I get to fulfill my appetite and get the majority of the recommended servings of fruit and veggies a day. It’s so easy it’s almost a crime.  I’m also going to start blogging my favourite recipe (or two) of the week that I come up with.
• Healthy Lunches and Suppers (prepare prepare prepare!): I’ve been working on keeping my lunches and suppers during the week as healthy as I can. Fruits, Vegetables, and low carb snacks.  Suppers are full of protein and hearty vegetables! The weekends are a bit more lenient sometimes, indulging in a bowl of spaghetti or a chicken burger isn’t the worst thing in the world.  I don’t want to cut out my favourites completely; I’ve tried that road before and end up binging on many unhealthy options on days that I decide to treat myself, and that does me more harm than good. Preparing my lunches the night before I go to school is very helpful, and lets me plan everything without having to rush out the door in 5 minutes.
• NO FAST FOOD!!!! : I think this one kind of explains itself.  Not only is it very unhealthy for me, but I’ll save a ton of money too!
• Do More Things that I Love: The main part of this goal is to get back into Kung Fu.  Kung Fu was my passion, it could get me through any kind of hardship that I ever encountered.  I stopped teaching and going to classes last year because it got too much for me and I needed to direct my focus completely on school.  But now that I’m in routine and I’ve finally gotten my feet back under me, its time that I take that next step to restore my training back into my everyday life.  I feel like this will be a good thing, and after my first class back last Friday, I feel like I’m exactly where I belong.  Another side to this resolution was to pursue my passion and desire to see more of the world that I live in.  I firmly believe that everyone should travel outside of their country at least once.  Travelling has always been my dream, and this year for the month of May, I will be heading off by myself to Thailand to participate in a Gap Medics volunteer placement in various hospitals around Chiang Mai.  I am more than excited to gain this experience, and travel to a part of the world that I had only ever dreamed of one day getting to experience.  And now, I get to do it while building my resume for med school… pretty cool right?
• Blogging!: Finally, my last resolution is to start blogging again, a minimum of twice a week.  I remember going through my black belt test and noticing that blogging really kept me grounded, and kept me more present in my everyday activities. I’d also like to have an archive to come back to at the end of the year to relive my thoughts and little experiences throughout 2015.  And what a better way to do that.

Well that’s that!  Here’s to a wonderful 2015.

“Afoot and lighthearted I take to the open road, healthy, free, the world before me.”
― Walt Whitman

Smoothie Recipe of the Day: (I very much enjoyed this one)

• 1/3 Cup of Cashews
• 1/2 Cup of Kale
• 1 Cup of Strawberries
• 1 Red apple
• Cranberry juice (to desired thickness)

Katelyn Wonsiak