Them 30 Days, This Community, and The Schools

The Whole30 

So I just did whole30! As I have mentioned. And it truly has been an incredible experience. I’ve just got to give a recap. I’d say I ate a pretty “healthy” diet before this – but this program still had a huge affect on me. I really needed a reset. I was feeling sluggish. I had baked many a cookie while I was “boot girl” and was still craving sweets aaaall the time. 

One of my least favorite things people would say to me when I told them I was doing whole30 was “That’s basically how I eat already”. Okay. If you said this to me in the last month- I don’t believe you. Well, maybe you do eat like this- but I promise you all of the people who said this to me are not telling the truth. Like I said previously- it is crazy how difficult it is to eat “whole30” these days. Because there are added ingredients in everything! If you are interested in learning the actual rules of the program click HERE. I’m not being sponsored by them. But I should be. 

Others replied to my whole30 news with “I already don’t eat a lot of sugar”. Great. I hear that. Good job not eating ice cream every day. (God knows I want to). But unless you are checking every label and cutting out every type of processed carbs- you are eating a ton of sugar.

I’ve always had a tricky time with my blood sugar/metabolism- since about sixth grade. I need to eat all the time. Which isn’t the worst thing for you if it’s in the right proportions. But I learned that part of that was due to sugar crashes. Yet until all of the excess sugar was out of my system completely- I didn’t feel what it was like to eat- and then not need to eat again a few hours later. 

I have been instructed before by health professionals to adjust my diet (#foodismedicinegetwithit). But I’ve never chosen to make such a specific diet choice on my own. And I have found it quite empowering. It is proof to your body that you actually do have a say in your life and how things go here. You actually do have a say in how you feel in your body and how you feel about your environment. It’s hard. I had to talk my closest people into doing it with me. I needed that support system. It’s hard. But once you do it- making healthier choices isn’t hard. Because your system can function clearly! It will tell you what it wants and what it does not want. I am inspired to share this with you and highly recommend whole30 to anyone who is interested.   

Community in New York

Wherever you are, wherever you come from, you are just as valid and important as anyone from anywhere else. New York, LA, or Conifer, Colorado. I’m not sure what moved me to express this this week. I just want to say it. There is this attitude from some people that New York is this big important place, and if you live here it somehow makes you superior. Before moving to New York I sensed bitterness from people who had left New York or decided not to move here. People who were bitter because they were made to feel like they weren’t as valid or relevant because they were living their lives and careers somewhere other than NYC. There is a lot happening here- and it is pretty wicked cool. But the notion that New York people are more important is so silly to me. Just because you live in cramped buildings with hundreds of other people does not make you better than the rest of the country. 

Another misconception about New York is that it is the loneliest city. And while I validate that that has been some people’s experience- it is not mine. I’ve been sitting at a particularly crowded Starbucks and have shared a table with two different strangers while I’ve been here. At a tiny two person table that really is big enough for one person. But we share. Because this is what we have. All of the squat racks were being used at the gym today. One guy saw me looking around at the squat racks and offered to trade off with me because he was alternating with calves. This worked out perfectly. As I traded off with him I was using another machine that another guy asked to trade off with. Everyone was so open to sharing today! I think it is important to be a good sharer in New York. Or to learn how to be. By the end of my squats my partner cheered me on and told me I was strong. YES New York! It’s this sense of community that I haven’t experienced in other places. I think I expected New York to really not have a sense of community. And yet it’s the exact opposite. It’s like we’re all here in this shared experience- and we might not know each other but we know we are in this together. (Especially on a holiday- any holiday. It’s like a holiday on crack. Because you can feel the celebration in the air. When millions of people shift their energy to a common thing in such a small space- it is almost tangible in the air.)

Our Schools

A small rant about the importance of art in our schools. I promise this will be a small rant. Maybe a bigger one later. I have been thinking about my high school this week. I haven’t actually been back inside my high school in years and definitely haven’t spoken to any administration. But what I have heard is that the budgets for the art programs are getting cut more and more each year. I know that while I was in high school our choir program started to disintegrate after our director left part way through my freshman year. And after he left there was very little attention given to this department. (Lucky for me our choir director moved to the community theatre scene and there was a very strong community theatre educational program cough cough thank you Lora Haimes). When I was in school we had incredible art teachers. Teachers who were truly artists themselves. Open hearted people who were creating art and inspiring students. The drawing and painting classes flourished as well as the ceramics and jewelry department. Then the school started getting more pressure to put more focus AP classes. 

Athletics had a ton of financial support at our school. But this really isn’t a thing about arts versus athletics. They shouldn’t even be thought of in the same category. Of course, I think athletics are important. I’m a personal trainer. Don’t get me started on the way health in this country could improve if only people would move more. (Or do get me started. I’m passionate. Food is medicine. And movement is medicine too). Art is not something that is for the “artsy kids”. If it is not your thing to draw a bowl of fruit- fine. That’s cool. But when these classes are being taken out of schools- no one even gets the chance to be an artsy kid. And the kids who aren’t artsy never get to learn that they actually are. 

I hesitated to even write about this because I do not think I have the words at this point to properly convey the necessity of the arts in schools. But I can try. There are students who I went to school with who would not have graduated if it were not for art class. There are some students who need it so badly- and giving them something that they can flourish in- keeps them in school and keeps them fighting to get through the other classes. These classes give kids a voice. It gives them the gift of expression. It helps kids to process whatever they are experiencing. Not only does it help them process- but it helps them turn pain into beauty and creation. Giving kids the ability to process emotions turns into a more empathetic society. That’s what art does. It helps people connect better to themselves and to others. In a society that in many ways is growing more and more disconnected. More and more “dead inside”. More and more ADD. More and more violent. Art is the antidote. For the artists and the non-artists. 

Side note. I found out my ninth grade English teacher reads my blog. So it’s official I am famous. If you’re reading this now- thank you for what you did. Thank you for caring. I still remember many conversations we had in your class. You never asked less of us because we were kids. Thank you for going deep with us when few other adults would. You truly made a difference. …And sorry for all the typos in this blog. 

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