Early Morning Runing

The sun has come out! It’s been a beautiful week here in New Rockford, and between bike riding and early morning running, I’ve been trying to take advantage of it. By the way, when I say running, I actually mean a slow but steady jog, I’ll be honest. On the other hand, when I say early morning, I actually really mean it.

Because of the hotness the sun has brought, I usually don’t get my jogging in until the sun starts going down and it starts cooling off for the night. This week, though, I was talked into going before the sun even came up instead. So on Monday morning, at 4:00 A.M., I was up groggily stretching. By 4:30, I was en route. After three miles, I finished off a final mile with a walk to watch the sun rise. You may not believe me, but it was actually the best way I can think of to start a morning. The freshly dewed grass blades glistened, even in the foggy, sunless world of the wee hours of the morning, before its inhabitants awaken. If you think New Rockford can seem like a “ghost town” at times, check it out at five o’clock in the morning. It is unbelievably easy to imagine you are the only person on earth—in a surprisingly non-eerie way. It truly feels like a whole different world.

I didn’t crash until that afternoon, for a good, shameless, two-hour nap. In the future, don’t be surprised if I write an ode to naps. Because you know there’s nothing better than a Sunday afternoon nap. You just know.

I’d like to tell you that I continued with the early morning exercising, but I’ve never been good at lying. On Tuesday morning, I rolled out of bed at my usual time of 11:30. If this happens to you, don’t get upset with yourself; not all is lost. Sunrise strolls cannot be matched, but there is much to be said about a sunny afternoon bike ride. Neighbors are mowing their lawns, kids are walking around with ice cream cones, and the sun is scattering through the green, tree-lined street of Central Avenue. For the extent of your cycling, it’s a worry-free world of blue skies and easy pedaling. Whether it’s an early morning jaunt or mid-afternoon ride, I hope you get to enjoy the fresh air and underrated beauties of our dear little town.

Always, Anna

Summer Reading

            With the first week of summer gone already, it’s time to start making some

 goals. Every year, I tell myself I’m going to do all these great things and make the most of my summer. Last year, I even made a “Summer Bucket List” with almost thirty items to check off, and I was pretty determined to mark off every single one. By the time school started, I had crossed off maybe half. This summer is not off to much of a better start. My first week was spent doing nothing but working, and after work, lounging around watching Friends reruns, ironically without any of mine, and the complete second season of Laguna Beach, complaining the whole time that my high school experience wasn’t like that at all. I gave myself an allowance of one week to get caught up on the much missed hours of sleep I had lost throughout the school year and try to grasp that I was no longer a high school student. But that grace period has passed and it’s time to take advantage of the sweet summer time am I right?

            But I think it has rained every day of the summer so far. So until the sun decides to come out of hiding, I still have plenty I can get done within the walls of the great indoors.

            First off, I’ve accumulated my own summer reading list. I have about a million books I’ve been collecting on my bookshelf all year, with no time to read them. Now I’ve got plenty of time and intend on finally getting at least some of them read! All of Jane Austen’s works have made the list, and I’ve personally started reading Pride and Prejudice for two summers now, but somehow never get through the whole book, whether it is because I get distracted by other books or get too busy. After recently watching the movie for about the hundredth time, this summer I am determined to finally read the book in its entirety. It’s for my own good, really.

Last fall, I lent my Hunger Games series to my sister and mother, even though I hadn’t finished Mockingjay yet, because school had begun and the lack of free time did not grant me the luxury of reading for fun. Yesterday, I finally finished the last book after shelving it for the school year. I had been dragging on reading it last summer anyway, because I knew that I would be sad when it was all over. I was right in my prediction. And now I just want my own Peeta and we all know that’s not going to happen any time soon—you Hunger Games fans, even if you’re on “Team Gale”, feel me on this one, I know you do.

            I hope you all enjoy some summer reading, and feel free to send me some recommendations or ask me for some of mine. For now, appreciate the beautiful sound and smell of the rain and read on.

            Always, Anna

Fake It 'Til You Make It

          Usually I keep this column pretty light and simple. I realize that I write a lot about happiness and smiling, and to some of you, that may sound like rainbows and unicorns.  My hope is that to most of you, though, it is realistic. I’m fully aware of the fact that I can get “preachy.” I’m always telling people how to act and treat others, and I’m sure plenty of people read this and call me a hypocrite because I’m not a perfect person either. I encourage everyone to live their lives in the best way they can, but that doesn’t mean I always do. I ask people to participate in challenges with me, such as random acts of kindness and the “Every Day is a Good Day” project, but I’m not always as kind as I encourage others to be, and I don’t always have the best attitude. I’m not bursting with sunshine and joyfulness every second of the day, and I, too, have to fight for even a smile sometimes.

            But that is just the point. I’m constantly trying. I don’t wake up every day with the confidence that my day is going to be swell, because I never know what is going to happen throughout the course of the day. But I do know it is going to be a good day, possibly even a great one. It’s not an automatic solution though, don’t let me fool you. I am constantly reminding myself that every day is a gift from God. In fact, I would say I remind myself this about fifteen times a day. I have those days in school where I’m watching the clock and counting the minutes for not just school to get out, but for the entire day to be over. I have to remind myself of my project, though, and instantly I’m thinking of ways to turn things around. It’s usually not too hard, because life is pretty amazing, isn’t it? There’s so much beauty to find in a baby’s laugh, or a tree’s leaves, or a stranger’s smile. I’ve grown fond of my problems, because they are so minor. I take pride in looking back at trials that used to be road blocks for me, seeing now that they were but insects on my windshield.

            I’ve discovered recently that a lot of people think of me as “the girl who is always smiling.” I’m good with that, and I’ve never consciously thought about it, but I guess it is pretty true. I smile…a lot,  like, a weird amount. It could be interpreted as borderline creepy. It may not be normal. Like, seriously, almost always. Or, really, just always. But still, I don’t know why that is something people notice; I don’t understand why they don’t all smile just as much as I do. It’s not that I’m happy all the time, or that my life is perfect, but the fact that my life is alive is what keeps me smiling. Everyone else is living on the same planet that I am—I’m pretty sure, anyway. Everyone has an endless supply of reasons to smile and be happy. On those days you come up blank and can’t manage to find one, force it. That’s right, “fake it ‘til you make it.” Being a waitress, I’ve had to do this a lot. I have found, though, that I only have to force a fake smile for about three seconds, and from then on, it’s real for the rest of the day. The truth is, there are too many reasons to smile, and it doesn’t take long to run out of reasons not to.

Always, Anna

*Reminder: E-mail me (you can even attach a video) with your reasons for smiling along with good days, bad days you have turned around, your experience with the “Every Day is a Good Day” project, and of course, why you think every day is a good day at AnnaRose_726@Hotmail.com*

GRADUATION!!

            I think we have all had those moments when we look in the mirror and do not know how to feel about what we see. Last Sunday, I had one of the most bizarre looks in the mirror. I walked into the school’s restroom and out of the corner of my eye caught a glimpse of someone wearing all black in the mirror. I turned and found it was myself; it was me wearing the cap and gown. Me. Wearing. The cap. And gown? It wasn't until that moment it hit me that I was really graduating. Standing around in the cafeteria with my classmates before the ceremony, it just felt like a game of dress up, or practice for graduation. This time, though, it was for real.

            All month had been strange already. I had been getting graduation announcements at school and in the mail, and it was still weird every time I saw one of my classmates’ faces on one. I seriously did a double take every time I recognized a peer and was confused for a moment until I remembered, “Oh, yeah, that is my class that is graduating.” I had grown used to my class graduating, myself not included. As I looked at myself in the mirror, wearing the traditional graduation garb, I could not look away. For all you Harry Potter fans, I can explain it best like I was looking into the Mirror of Erised—which shows you with your deepest desires, even if you are not really with them. As my tassel brushed my cheek, though, my outfit was confirmed. I really was wearing that, because I really was graduating—in, like, twenty minutes!!

            I shook the weirdness and joined my classmates for pictures. Soon enough we were walking into the gym. I heard the band playing “Pomp and Circumstance” and panicked for a second before I realized this is the first year I wouldn’t play that song with them. Sitting on the stage, staring at all these people, I kept forgetting that they were staring right back at me and all my classmates. Because, you know, we were graduating and all. How could I keep forgetting this?!

            Before I knew it, I was addressing everybody for my speech. I have a habit of talking fast—especially when I’m excited. My five-minute speech was over in probably three minutes, and most people could probably hardly understand what I said, but, oh, well. It beat the dream I had the night before, in which we had gone through graduation and skipped over the part where I give my speech. I was so upset, I went around to all my classmates open houses, delivering my speech to everyone at every party. My hasty speech delivery worked out a little better than that, I think.

            At my own open house, I still kept forgetting that I was the graduate until I looked around and saw my face in pictures everywhere! Odd. I just kept sneaking up on myself as a reminder of my own graduation! The next day, I had already forgotten again until I logged onto Facebook to find that I had been tagged in pictures, and once again, there I was in that cap and gown!

            It still hasn’t hit me, and I really don’t feel any different at all. Every night, around ten, I still get that anxiety as I try to remember if I have any homework due in the morning. It is nice to remember I don’t, and won’t ever again—as far as high school goes, anyway. I honestly don’t think it will hit me until August, when I’m still here (I don’t move to college until September) and everyone else is going back to school but me. Until then, I’ll just keep racking my brain for homework assignments and continue to be confused every time I see pictures from graduation or “Congrats, grad!” cards addressed to me.

Always, Anna