Then – June 2006
- On 3 week whirlwind Euro-trip through England, Scotland, Ireland and Germany with best friends
- Had taken all of my 3 weeks of vacation time from my job as a receptionist to take the trip. Meant no time off at Christmas or other holidays until the following year.
- Watched a preliminary World Cup match (Italy vs. Ghana) in Hannover and saw many other games broadcasted throughout Europe
- Living at home with my dad and brother.
- Good support network of friends and family.
- Not feeling so great about my body. A director had asked me to lose 15 lbs for a role in the fall and I nearly told him where to shove it… while starting to doubt myself all the same.
- Finding a balance between working full time and doing shows
- Eating whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. I was not one to deprive myself of anything and Europe was a great example of that as I enjoyed the spicy fries in the grease-laden transparent paper cone and dessert at restaurants practically every night.
Now – July, 2010
- In the midst of Fringe, enjoying school and work and spending time with friends. Every afternoon at 2pm kinda feels like a vacation because nothing really feels like work and I love everything that I’m doing when I’m supposedly “working”. Such a drastic change from being at a desk 9-5..
- Watched the World Cup final with Melly and her old roommates after catching a Fringe show
- Living with 3 awesome roommates in a house that I love.
- Amazing support network of friends, classmates, mentors and people who inspire me.
- Feeling better about my body. The last few months have definitely been a big transition for me but I’m starting to find that groove again and almost feel back to where I would like to be. Have worked over the last 4 years to lose 30 lbs and keep it off.
- Have struck an amazing balance between work and play. Truly thriving in my life as a student, Weight Watchers Leader and actor, and feel like I have a great synergy between the three. Now that things have slowed down even more so, there is even more “me” time in sight and look forward to what’s to come this summer.
- Eating mindfully as a gluten-free vegan Weight-Watchin’ gal. This summer I want to re-evaluate my diet based on some things that I’ve been learning in school and ensure that I’m getting a good balance of foods and macronutrients. I feel so healthy eating this way, and am still able to make room for treats (like delightful mango-raspberry gelato from Summers)
At that World Cup game four years ago, I never would have imagined that I would end up here in 2010. I was reminded of this experience by Meghan’s post on “Becoming Who I Needed to Meet” last week and evaluating my greatest life changes from four years ago.
Someone mentioned to me yesterday that they had felt inspired by my actions of late and that I was just doing what I wanted to be doing without worrying about the “5 year plan”. I responded by saying that five years from now I just want to be happy. I think that’s probably what I wanted for myself back in 2006 as well, but at the time I didn’t know what the source of that happiness was going to be nor what it was going to look like. I never would have dreamed it would be living this life that I currently lead and that’s fine by me.
Isn’t it wonderful to be where you are, when you imagine where you’ve come from? ~Byron Katie
How has life changed for you over the last four years? Where do you see yourself in the future?
6 comments:
I love this post!! I 100% agree with the statement "in five years from now I just want to be happy." I used to worry about where I would be in the future - how advanced I would be in my career, when would I have a house, a car, etc. Now all I want for the future is to be happy and healthy. It can be hard to get away from the feeling that I should have more or be more at this point in my life (or the feeling that other people expect that I should) but it's so freeing to realize that in the end, happiness is what matters.
Like you in 5 years from now I'd love to be able to say I've maintained my weight loss and that I'm happy as well. I've never been one of those 5 or 10 year planners so can't really come up with anything else right now.
I have my ideas of where I may be... but I can't wait to find out what is planned for me :)
Fantastic post! It's so amazing to look back on life and see how far you've come and just imagine the how far you can go. Everything we've done has brought us to where we are and where we need to be. Good luck, I'm sure your next 5 years will rock :)
Thank you so much for this lovely and inspirational post. I really like the idea of just wishing to be happy in five years.
I would also love to just be happy in five years! I've spent a lot of time trying to find happiness, but it's like that Thoreau quote, "Happiness is like a butterfly. The more you chase it, the more it will elude you. But if you focus on other things it will come and sit softly on your shoulder." It just makes me think that maybe I'm overthinking my happiness and putting too much pressure on myself and that is actually getting in the way.
Anyway, thank you for the very inspiring post. I've actually gone pretty far downhill in the past 4 years, but I'm hoping that if I can get my life in order, the next 4 years will be happier ones.
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