So, this weekend I really wanted to write you guys a thorough, informational fitness article that would require a lot of research and writing on my part. Which I love doing, by the way. I love learning more about fitness, and I love taking the time to share it with you all. But with Senior Show only five days away, I just didn’t have that kind of time or energy.
In fact, when I’ve been getting home from rehearsal, I’ve had little energy to really do anything I want to do, let alone what I need to do, like homework. But luckily, a jolly individual who casually passed me humming today reminded me that there is a song Julie Andrews likes to sing about her favorite things when the going gets tough.
Now, I don’t have a go-to song that I’ve composed to sing like Julie Andrews as I frolic through the hills of the Austrian countryside, but I do have a list of favorite things that make me feel better. And, like the lyrics of “My Favorite Things” suggest, the things that make me feel better are often the small things. There is nothing profound about raindrops on roses or whiskers on kittens, but they are nice, aren’t they?
So, hopefully this doesn’t seem too similar to the motivation post I made back in the fall, but I made a top 10 list of the little things that will get me through this next week. Plus, sometimes we need to remind ourselves how important the little things are.
1. Work Outs
Come on, it’s Zen & M’s; of course this is one of the things I look forward to. Almost nothing beats strapping on a pair of sneakers and releasing some aggression in the form of sweat.
2. Red Pandas
Do I even need a caption for this? Didn’t think so.
3. Coffee
The best way for me to get through a long morning is knowing that a cup of coffee awaits me at Starbucks. And here’s to the friends who offer to go get you some when they see you stressed. Thank you so much; you know who you are!
4. Smiles
My smile, other peoples’ smiles, making people smile and people making me smile — I like them all.
5. Nails
Sorry boys, this probably isn’t as awesome to you as it is to me. But, I’ve been looking forward all weekend to borrowing my friend’s lavender nail polish, and now it is finally on my fingers, so if I ever look down in despair, my pretty nails will be there to cheer me up!
6. Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto
Not a classical music person? Listen to it anyway; it’s almost perfect. I say almost because Rachmaninoff’s second Piano Concerto is perfection. I promise everyone will fall in love with these pieces. They take me to a different world.
7. Cookies
I’ve been really good lately about giving myself a small sweet treat at lunch and eating healthy for the rest of the day. But, when the weekend comes I can relax, which means baking, of course. I can’t get to the weekend unless I get through the week first, though.
8. Breakfast
Breakfast just might be my favorite part of the day, as avid Zen & M’s readers know. No matter how stressful any day this week may get, I can rest easy knowing that I will have breakfast to start every single one of them.
9. Memes
Even when stressed, I find time to lurk through the Internet for memes that make me LOL. I expect this week to be no different.
10. Rehearsal
It’s strange that this is on my Favorite Things List because it is what’s causing my stress. Yet, through all that stress, I experience something incredibly rewarding: pulling together an intricate project with an extraordinary group of people and watching them impress me with their intelligence and creativity every day.
