2017 is a wrap! What a year it has been.  This blog is going to be short and sweet compared to other posts.  I just want to take a quick moment to review this past year, highlight some key things that I’m really happy I achieved.

Blogging

Since the fall of 2016, I started using Word Press again, mostly for school assignments.  Once the school year term ended in April 2017, I still continued to use the platform to share my thoughts on all things digital.  It has allowed me to publish content and to build up my writing portfolio in the process.  Employers can also easily search through the archives to see what my writing style is like and what I can bring to the table.

Honestly, I hadn’t touched Word Press since late summer 2012, so to be able to do this and get reacquainted with this platform was fun.  I will only be using this site to publish my thoughts on a monthly basis.  The reality is that I’m busy and pre-occupied with work and life.  And besides this domain, there’s other social media channels I am on regularly where you can find me as well!

Back to the gym

When you have a celebrity as big as The Rock preaching that exercise is his daily anchor, I totally get it.  For me it is too. I don’t boast about it and publish my progress on social media, I just do it.  People tend to comment how I post a lot of foodie pics, yet I am in great shape.  The reality is, the work is being put in – I choose not to broadcast it.  The gym is sacred ground, it’s like a church to me.  Treat it with respect and you will see the results.

When school finished in the spring, you would think that more time would open up for me to get back into the gym.  I fell into a bad gym funk.  It actually made it harder for me to get back into the groove of things. I even switched gyms in the summer and was not able to motivate myself like I used to.  I regularly keep a gym journal on how many times I go to the gym.  From May to September, I only swiped my gym key 41 times.  That is embarrassing, considering there were 163 total days in that five-month span.  For me, enough was enough…it was time for a change.  There were three months remaining in the calendar year and I was not going to wait till the new year to get my butt in gear.  A light bulb switch in my head went off.  I am proud to say that I regained my consistency in the fall.  I just refocused and rededicated myself.  For the final 92 days of 2017, I went to the gym or did some sort of physical activity 76 times.  I went to the gym on average of five days a week.  This is no easy task given how busy one person’s work schedule can get.  There was one week where I was sick as a dog and I still went five times pushing through.

Going to the gym is a personal challenge of mind over matter.  To be healthy, you must incorporate fitness into your lifestyle.  But to build a lifestyle, you must build consistency.  Those two keywords are synonymous with one another.  To many, doing any sort of physical activity is considered torture.  The true testament is to ensure your mindset overrules any physical limitation you are feeling.  Once you can change the way you think, you will not dread working out.

Going back to school

The decision to go back to school has been highly documented in a previous post on this website.  But for me, it was my most favourite and personal post to publish. To add some other insight that I didn’t include in that write up, procrastination was a major factor in such a long layoff on not returning to upgrade my education.  In fact, in the summer of 2014, I almost contemplated towards a career as a realtor.  I started to read a few chapters of the books my mom had and I eventually concluded this was not the path I wanted to take.  I’ve always been a firm believer that patience is a virtue and that good things come to those who wait.  I simply cannot be rushed into something.  And if you don’t have that gut instinct that this is what’s best for you, don’t second guess yourself.

Attending school while working full time and graduating with honours was a great accomplishment.  What I am most proud of the most, was that my whole family was able to come to my convocation – including my dad, who missed my 2004 graduation at York University because he had to work. You are forgiven Dad! Xoxo.

Outro

These are three highlights that I wanted to mention as this year comes to a close.  All of them are somewhat tied to digital, but more on a personal level for me.  Blogging was something I had done for five years straight…only to take a five-year break as well.  Going back to the gym was inspired from visuals I saw on Instagram and helped me refocus in that area.  And getting a post graduate certificate in social media was the icing on the cake for me.  Having that said, I just want to take this time to wish everyone a happy new year, wishing you all the best for 2018!