I'm back again with lots of updates! It's hard to believe it's already been almost a month since I graduated (and still waiting for that diploma to come in the mail!), and this is the start of week four at my new job. The realization that I'm out of school for the first time since I was three years old is slowly starting to hit me. It's a great feeling, but at the same time can be a bit scary, as I'm building the road to my future. I'm almost certain I will return to school to earn a masters or some other certification / degree, but the question that remains, is where, when, how, and for what. I know this time off is probably necessary to gain some work experience, build up my resume, and explore different career and education options. I've been most interested in some sort of teaching certification or degree, it's just a matter of deciding upon a focus area and a school. There's a program at UW Madison that I'm strongly considering, and I'm soon discussing the program a bit more with an advisor. The problem is that the program only starts once a year, in the fall (applications due Feb. 1), and I know I need to stay at my new job for a while in order to strengthen my resume and provide me with more experience and references to be accepted. If this is what I decide, I'd have to submit my application this winter, to start the program in Fall 2014. If I'm not ready, or I don't get accepted, then I'd have to wait to re-apply, and couldn't start the program until Fall 2015. It's just difficult to be in this spot - just celebrated earning a degree, getting established in the working world, but not getting too comfortable as I decide what's next. So that's been on my mind, but I know I should not stress over it, and just focus on doing well at my job, and attempt to make time for more volunteer experience. Sigh, why does going back to school always have to be so difficult.
Despite some of that confusion, I've been feeling pretty great since graduation. So I was off to a bit of a rocky start for the Eat to Live plan, I haven't been following it as strictly, but I'm finding that has been a good thing. I noticed that I haven't been obsessing as much over eating according to a strict plan, weighing myself, or counting calories / creating meal plans. That's not to say I've been eating exactly as I'd like, but if I do end up having a processed food, or eating late, I haven't been letting it make me feel so guilty, I just get back on track and let it go. Originally, I wanted to be eating a diet of mostly veggies, beans / legumes, and fruit for 6 weeks (from the 6 week plan outlined in Eat to Live), but I have included small amounts of other healthy food. This past week or so, I noticed that I didn't seem to have any cravings, or temptations to eat sugary junk foods, I've felt in a better mood, and I dropped a couple of pounds on the scale! It's amazing how when you stop trying so hard, stop obsessing, that you can feel better, and have better results! Now, I'm just hoping to continue on with my streak!
I think a part of me realized that I'm in the real world now, instead of having some random part-time job that hardly interested me, and where my job was just on the side of my full-time school work, it's now crucial to put forth my best efforts at work, because this time it matters a lot. I can't continue the way I was and expect to really excel; I'm at a point now where I don't have time to focus on things of such little importance - yes, my health is important, a healthy diet and regular exercise are necessary, but trying to micromanage calories is just exhausting and unnecessary.
I didn't make it to the gym much in the last couple of weeks, but I'm slowly getting there, and I know that's one goal to work on, especially now that I'm a little more settled in my new job. On Wednesday I'll be attending a yoga class that I signed up for, it's a 6 or 7 week course offered once a week. It's been much too long since I've practiced yoga, so I'm excited to get back in the swing of it! I have made it a goal to practice yoga more often, and maybe try Bikram yoga too!