Happy Friday, Everyone!
Tag: Life
The Relevance of Age
To preface this entry (as I usually do), I have to say that I generally prefer not to write about people from my personal life- especially in a public space such as WordPress where they can easily find that I have written about them.
But, in order to make my point, I have to introduce this individual (who will remain UN-named) so that you can see the bigger picture.
Here it goes:
I recently ended things with a guy that I had been dating for approximately 2 months. I met him in mid-December and broke things off shortly after Valentine’s Day (ironic, I know)
His major qualm between the two of us was our age difference and to be honest, there wasn’t much of a difference at all. He’s 26 and I’m 22. From my own personal experiences, I’ve noticed that after the age of 21, people within the 20’s age-group are all pretty much in the same playing field. We’re all lost, searching for ourselves, etc. etc.
Now back to this guy…
It always irritated me at how concerned he was about the fact that I’m 22 and had just graduated college. He insisted that I still had so much to learn and so many experiences to face, which I can’t disagree with. I definitely still have a lot to learn and experience. I, on the other hand, believed that despite that one, tiny factor of age, we generally saw eye-to-eye on most things.
This may be an exaggeration, but it seemed that any time that I contributed my opinion on a serious topic, he would practically remit my contribution and insist that I still have “so much growing up to do”. And this was usually only whenever he didn’t like what I had to say.
I hated that.
Now here’s another piece of information…
My ex-boyfriend whom I dated for 3 years was his exact same age- their birthdays were actually only several weeks apart- and he never once, critiqued our relationship based on our age difference. This was also because I had far surpassed him in maturity levels.
I don’t want to sound like a young, naive, narcissistic 20-something year old who thinks that she has it all figured out, but I will say that I actually am mature for my age (at least far more mature than a majority of my friends) I’m proud of myself for how much I have accomplished as well as the life experiences that have been bestowed upon me to make me the person I am today. I was fortunate enough to graduate college in 4 years as well as get a job right out of college- even more so, a job at my favorite magazine of all time, Runner’s World. And this did not just happen because of luck, of course. I worked hard throughout college and had a great internship. I’m also a driven and self-motivated individual.
Now getting back to my point about the guy that I dated…
It’s safe to say that I was often discouraged to give my feedback on a situation whenever I talked to him because I felt that my opinion would immediately be dismissed.
I felt like an elementary-school student whose teacher would harshly tell them that they are wrong after enthusiastically answering a question.
This really made me question my credibility as an opinionated person.
But then I thought, it’s my opinion. There shouldn’t be a right or wrong, nor should it be heavily correlated to my age.
And so, the moral of this story is this:
Everyone has an opinion. It’s neither right nor wrong. It’s just how a person feels about a certain topic or scenario. Everyone experiences different things at different times. The relevance of age is that it is irrelevant. Someone may experience flying on an airplane at the age of 50, while another person has been flying on planes since birth. Experiences make up the things that we are familiar with and they shape our opinions. I’m not saying that age should be completely thrown out the window when it comes to wisdom though. I completely respect my elders and am always willing to take advice from them. As you grow older, you do gain more wisdom and insight towards life, but when it comes to dating, a 4-year age difference when you are in your 20’s really means nothing.
The verdict: Age is irrelevant.
Queen of carbs
It’s 8AM and I’m making pasta again (for lunch that is). What else is new? As you become more familiar with my blog and my writing style, you’ll begin to notice that my most impulsive moments to write is when I’m cooking or eating. Aside from running and writing, the other big love in my life is food.
A lot of people have their own personal reasons for exercise. Some people do it to increase their quality of life, some people do it to lose or maintain weight, and some people do it purely because they love it.
For me, I run because of all of those things. But my most important reason: I LOVE TO EAT.
Living in New York City in your young-twenties is very overwhelming. There are millions of people to meet, places to go, and things to eat. The options are endless.
Of course, living in New York City also comes with a big price tag.
I wouldn’t say I’m struggling, but I’m definitely on a pretty slim budget. I enjoy going out with friends, but the costs add up.
From the time I’ve been here since December 1st, the one thing that struck me the most was how hard my bank account was hit…by food. A girl’s gotta eat, right?
And on the off chance that I actually go grocery shopping instead of going out to a restaurant, I usually stick to the staples: Pasta, oatmeal, granola bars, bread, etc. Or in broader terms, carbs, carbs, and more carbs.
It’s not shocking that I eat a lot pasta. I’m a runner. Carbs are my friend. Carbs are also my enemy.
I read numerous articles on what a runner’s diet should be. Really, the key is to have everything in moderation. As usual, this applies to most areas in life.
The thing is, after you exercise or go for a nice long run, you give yourself this permission to eat pretty much whatever you want. May I repeat, everything in moderation though.
So what I’m trying to say is that when it comes to eating, you just have to be realistic. Do you need that extra brownie? Should you really eat an entire box of pizza? Think about it. You may have burned away 700 or some-odd calories, but what is a plate of cheese fries going to do to refuel you?
This is something I need to work on for myself. It’ll probably come to me again during my pasta time (which is my favorite time)
Factors
As suspected, I’m doing quite a horrendous job at keeping up with my goal of writing a blog entry every day. I was a bit over-ambitious when I conjured that up, but my intentions were there. It’s safe to say, it’s quite easy to veer off track when there’s so much to do and so little time. I clearly need to prioritize my time better when it comes to writing. That being said, I’d like to ask the question, “Can you do it all?”
Time management has always been a skill that I’ve been slowly, but surely improving on from high school up until present day. I like to put a lot on my plate, to the point where things are about to spill off the edges. Fortunately though, I always find a way to contain everything from overflowing.
In high school, sports defined me. I defined myself through my accomplishments in how far I’ve come after hours of hard work and practice. Naturally, running was a perfect way to define myself in that aspect. With running, you reap what you sow- or in simpler terms, you get out of it what you put in. This, of course, can apply to an endless amount of scenarios and situations. It’s a motto for life. But let’s get back to running.
I’d say that I’m a talented athlete. I’m good, definitely not spectacular and definitely not graced with the X-factor to become an Olympic athlete. But I’ve come about as close to “spectacular” in my own definitions of myself due to the dedication that I’ve given to the sport. After high school, the dedication fizzled out because I wanted to experience college on my own time, by my own rules. I couldn’t stay away though.
I continued to sign up for various 5Ks throughout college- about one per season just to make myself feel better and to keep the spark alive. However, I wasn’t fully committed. As stated before, time management became an essential skill for me. Between juggling academics, a social life, fitness, mental health, etc., running wasn’t at the top of my list. But I couldn’t stay away.
I yearned for the thrill of competing and I missed the feeling of training for a race.
You really have to sacrifice your body, your mind, your time, your energy, your life when it comes to seriously training for a race. Even the slightest factors can make the difference in shaving off minutes.
When I first signed up for the Big Sur International Marathon, I was just excited to say that I was even running it. I didn’t take it seriously. I didn’t care about time or if I skipped a run here and there. But as time is getting closer and I’m getting deeper into training, I’m beginning to realize how much this race actually means to me.
Factors play a significant role in running and in life. The decisions that we make day to day create a path for how the rest or our day, week, month, year, and so on turns out. You can choose to go out for a run, you can choose to eat something that you know is bad for you, you can choose to hate instead of love. Whatever your decision may be in life, think about how it will make you feel afterwards.
In closing, I found a random quote which I thought applied to this random collection of thoughts that I’m publishing here. Here it is:
“We all make choices, but in the end our choices make us”
1AM is pasta time
If you haven’t already read my short and sweet introduction yet, I’d like to debrief you on how I stumbled upon deciding to create a WordPress account.
I’ve always been drawn to writing as a form of expression. The only person I’ve ever really wanted to share anything with whenever I was frustrated, or upset, or angry, or even happy has always been my sister. However, on the off chance that I don’t want to share my feelings with her, I’ve always turned to writing because I strongly value my alone time and I prefer to be by myself, with my own thoughts. Perhaps that’s a dangerous thing, but it has always worked for me in the past.
This manifested into another form of expression which has become extremely significant to me: Running.
As a long-distance runner, I get the self-satisfaction of taking all of the irrational, lingering thoughts that are in my head and just letting them dissipate because sometimes, being too much in your head is not a good thing. These thoughts have to be released somehow. For me, that would either have to be on paper or distance through miles. Either way, I am somehow able to calm myself down.
The catalyst that sparked this random inspiration to publicize my thoughts tonight came from one simple act of cooking pasta to bring for lunch tomorrow at work.
I was standing in front of my stove, stirring my boiling pot of whole wheat pasta when one simple thought came to my mind; This is my life.
I live in New York City. I am a college graduate. I am independent from my parents. I have a job at an amazing Publishing Company which houses a magazine title that I idolized as a high school runner.
What am I missing?
This is the question that I’ve been asking myself for my entire life.
I can safely say that I haven’t had a rough childhood in the slightest. I was blessed with a great family; two loving, supportive parents and a sister who happens to be my best friend. I received a great education throughout my entire youth. I have great friends.
What am I missing?
Living in a city of insurmountable opportunity, filled with millions of people, how could anyone possibly feel certainly alone?
Life here moves so fast and it’s a type of life that I have pictured myself living, but now that I’m in it, I almost don’t know how to live it.
I run, I write, what more is there for me?
I know I just got here, but I feel like there’s so much more waiting for me.
1AM is pasta time. 1AM is also inspiration time, apparently.
Lindsey Lazarte 