Finally Is The Goal

Howdy all!

This is me. It’s pretty simple. After a long and windy road of strange, wonderful, misguided, and happy mistakes, I find myself in my mid-twenties with two big goals and making no some progress on accomplishing them.

One day, I hope to check those goals off the to-do list and say “Finally!”. What is the to-do list? Let’s see…

#1. Lose the weight.

#2. Finish my bachelor’s degree.

It seems like a very short to-do list. However, they are two items in my life I have struggled with the longest.

Goal #1

I have struggled with my weight since puberty. I am very short (5’1”) and have always been on the stocky side. I remember my mom having to take me to the boys department to find jeans because the little girls jeans didn’t fit properly. A nice long period with Depo Provera and antidepressants have made this issue even more contentious. I’ve done vegetarianism, Weight Watchers, South Beach, Master Cleanse, pre-portioned frozen food only, and just plain not eating in my numerous failed attempts at losing. It wasn’t until last year with the help of MyFitnessPal and Bodybuilding.com did I actually make some real progress. I am off the meds (with my doc’s approval) and switched to a non-hormonal IUD. I am more in tune to my body than ever before and follow a semi-clean eating plan with strength and cardio. I still struggle as I love Cheddar Jalapeno Cheetos and Double Stuf Oreos but at least I’m getting it to a manageable level.

Goal #2

I started working my bachelor’s degree in August 2004. After 1 really great freshman year, I transferred to a much larger university and immediately sank. Two very poor and lackluster years later, the university decided it was best that I take some time off and sort my life out before finishing. I began working a series of challenging but dead-end jobs. During this time, I took courses online and finished 27 hours through community college distance education. When I got a job at the university that suspended me, I knew it was time to finally finish that degree. Finishing my bachelor’s at another university just seemed like quitting. I enrolled for the first time in five years in January 2012, taking half-time courses while working full-time. It’s a struggle to manage the time but there is now a light at the end of the tunnel.

I know that if when I can finally say “Finally” to these two things, I am ready to move on, with nothing to hold me back or weigh me down.