4 Unexpected Benefits of Getting Fit

1. Mo' workouts, less problems.
This is hard to explain, but as I got more and more confident in my fitness, other things in my life seemed to fall into place. Even if problems still existed, they seemed less important and less daunting now that I was healthier. Any drama in my life didn't stress me out like it used to, because I knew I was taking care of myself and being the best version of myself that I could be. That kind of out-weighed everything else.

2. Body awareness like whoa. 
When you're working towards a fitness goal, you look at your body, a lot. Before I began working out, I didn't pay a whole lot of attention to my body. I never even once noticed being bloated. People talked about it all of the time. "I'm so bloated after I eat this or that." I never experienced that, until I started paying attention to my body by taking progress photos, or generally just staring at my stomach desperately searching for my abs. Any fluctuation stuck out, and it was a good way to measure my body's reaction to consuming certain foods and drinks.

3. Sleep over everything.
I. love. to. sleep. Always have, always will. I prioritize it. I plan my life around it. I always thought I slept pretty well, but I didn't know what I was missing. A major bonus from hardcore workouts is a full night of sleeping like a rock. I would fall asleep earlier, and my quality of sleep was way higher on the days I worked out. Naturally, I woke up feeling awesome, and ready to workout again.

4. Give me all of the healthy things.
Working out is great, but you've probably already heard that you can eat your way out of any fitness routine. Typically if you work out, but eat like crap, you're not going to experience the best results. I'll tell ya, as hard as I was working on my body, there was no way I was going to ruin it by eating crap food. Working out made me want to eat right, and led me to search for the healthiest version of everything. If I was kicking butt in the gym, I wanted to kick butt in the kitchen as well.

What Happened When I Deactivated my Facebook for 30 Days

1. I did things because I wanted to do them, not because I thought they looked cool.
Initially it was difficult to go out and do fun things, and not post about them on Facebook. It was so ingrained in me to want to share all of the exciting aspects of my life. Then I remembered what it meant to do things simply because I wanted to. I remembered that sharing something on Facebook wouldn't make it a better memory.

2. I took photos to capture memories, not for likes.
I still took a lot of photos during my Facebook hiatus. I remembered that I've always loved to take photos. Long before I had social media I was uploading photos to my computer or getting prints. I had to remember that I take photos because I enjoy looking back on the memories, not because I want to impress people.

3. I texted and called my friends, instead of writing on their walls.
It always seemed to much easier to post something on a friend's Facebook wall when I wanted to get in touch with them. I always knew what they were up to, even without actually talking to them. Without a Facebook, I had to make sure I was reaching out via text to keep up with my friends.

4. I spent a bit more time scrolling on Instagram.
Okay, so maybe this wasn't the point of taking a break from Facebook, but a girl had to get her social media fix somehow.

5. I typed facebook.com into my address bar a million times. 
It's unbelievable how much of a habit this was for me. Even when I was trying to go to another website my fingers would type 'fa' first before I even realized what I was doing.

6. I had to remember birthdays.
This was harder than it should have been, but I made it happen.

7.  I stopped missing it.
At the time I decided to deactivate my fb, I was checking it multiple times a day. But before I knew it, I wasn't even thinking about it anymore. One less distraction.

8. It automatically reactivated, and I deactivated it again.
When my 30 days was up, I found that I didn't actually want to check Facebook. It seemed like more of an inconvenience than anything. So, I deactivated it again, this time without the automatically reactivate feature.

8 Things I Learned While Unemployed

I have always wanted to work. I distinctly remember being 14 and wishing for the day I could write "@ work" on my AIM away message. When I was 15 I got my first "job" babysitting. As soon as I was legally able, I got my first real job at 16, and I've been working ever since. Being a good employee always felt like an important part of who I was. I took pride in my work. I always wanted more; more hours, promotions, extra responsibilities. I'm no stranger to hard work, and that's why it was an interesting transition to spending 4 months without a job last year. I've finally made myself a useful part of society again, but a few things came to light during my time off.

1. I could probably watch TV 24/7 until the end of time.                      
Seriously, I love it. You'd think I would get sick of Netflix but...no.

2. I had no excuse to not work out.
No more I'm too tired or stressed from work. It was just me, myself and I, and I really couldn't think of any excuses (darn it).

3. I spent money on a lot of useless crap.
Watching my fun funds fast deplete, I realized how much I was spending money that I didn't need to. And I cut it out, quick. Online shopping is a dangerous world.

4. Waking up slow is the best.
Granted I've always known this, but when I had a job to get to, I popped out of bed at the first sound of my alarm. When I was unemployed...not so much. The snooze button is magic, my friends.

5. A job does not define our success.
I've defined myself by my work since I was 16. I only felt successful if I was working...a lot. Now I realize even without a job I'm still me. I'm still a good person. I'm still proud of who I am.

6. I'm really good at being alone.
Being unemployed has provided me with a LOT of free time, most of which I spend alone. Initially I thought I would go a little crazy, but it turns out I don't mind it one bit.

7. Savings accounts are important.
Little Trina was very smart. Instead of buying the newest fanciest gadgets with her paychecks, she deposited them into a savings account, and present Trina is very thankful for that. It is largely why I've been able to take months off of work without panicking. Enjoying the present is important but so is saving for the very unpredictable future.

8. It's what we do when we go home at the end of the day that really matters.
A job pays the bills, and if you're really lucky you might even enjoy it. But I've come to realize it's the passions outside of work that really matter. Even when I wasn't employed, I was still a writer, an artist, a musician, an avid reader. I studied french and fell in love with yoga. These are the things that I love to share with people. These are the things that make me who I am, not where I clock in or out.