Centralians Don't Play Soccer

Someday you may get the notion that since you are generally pretty athletic that you can surely play a sport that only requires you to run and kick a ball. And maybe you're right. 

Unless you're from Centralia. 

Take my word for it. No matter how athletic you think you are, if you are from Centralia, DON'T PLAY SOCCER.

Seriously. Not kidding. Take Coach Bennett's and the rest of the coaches advice and do yourself a favor and leave this sport to the kids who were actually allowed to play while growing up. 

If I had to blame anybody, it would have to be my friends Emma and Courtney since they are Phi Lamb's rec chairs and they make the teams. And since all my friends were playing, I decided to join too. Kidding about blaming them. But they are the reason I decided to play, sooo....

The first game was absolutely ridiculous. The only thing I had going for me was my ability to run thanks to cross country and track. However, being able to run only goes so far when you have no idea where you're actually supposed to be running too. So I just chased after the ball. The highlight of my game was stealing the ball from some other girl. We won't talk about how I made it a whopping five feet before getting it stolen right back. Whatever.

Side-note: I will never understand a sport where when a ball is flying at your head you aren't allowed to catch it. You're actually supposed to hit it with your head. From now on I will be sticking to the sports that I know and love that involve catching a ball.

Believe it or not, I actually enjoyed that first game to an extent. I really love to run and I got a lot of running in. So that was fun. Also playing with my friends was a perk. I can't say the sport was super exciting to me, but props to those people out there who play and are good/love it. This world would be quite dull if we all loved and appreciated the same things.

Then the second game rolls around. I made it a whole three minutes before hurting myself. They thought I tore my ACL but thank the good Lord that I didn't. Talk about a buzz kill. I just really bruised the bones pretty bad and have had to use crutches for the past two weeks. It's been super.....awful. If I'm not super toned by the time I get off of these I will be more than disappointed. 

But this is my Happiness Project. Why did playing a foreign sport and hurting myself make me happy you ask?

Well......trying something new. The whole point of this project is to step out of my comfort zone and experience new things. Try the unexpected. And coming from Centralia, soccer is definitely unexpected. 

When I went home last weekend every single person who saw me on crutches said in some way, "Don't you know where you are from? People from Centralia don't play soccer."

I can't really say that getting hurt helped my happiness project any. I guess in a way it made me appreciate my home town. I always thought it was crazy that nobody played or liked soccer back home. However, this must have just been God's way of telling me to leave this sport to the people who understand it. 

As for me, I'll stick with football. You just can't beat those Friday Night Lights.

My Semester Vow

This month my main focus for my Happiness Project is really staying on top of my school work and working hard. Welllllll, in preparation for this month I made a vow at the beginning of this semester that I'm still kicking myself for.

I vowed to not miss class unless I absolutely have to.

That's right, you read that correct. I'm actually going to class.

Now for those of you back in Centralia who are all saying, "well Andi you're such a good student I can't imagine that going to class is really that big of a vow", I'm here to tell you that things have changed for this dedicated scholar of the past. 

College happened.

(Okay let's be real, buzzfeed quizzes happened and they consume my life and I have to take every single one that comes out because they tell you so much about your life and I gave them up for Lent for this reason and now I don't know how to procrastinate anymore)

But in all seriousness, my study habits were less than average last semester and Rachel (roommate) would tell you that I went to about 25% of my classes. HOWEVER, I totally rocked all my finals and ended up with grades that I would have expected even if I did go to class, soo...WINNING.

ANYWAYS, this semester I have implemented my vow. And I have only missed one class and that was during syllabus week to go to Chan's college visit. 

Do you know how hard it is to walk across campus to an 8:00 am class in negative temperatures? Do you realize how much willpower that takes to make yourself leave your warm apartment? Last semester I wouldn't have been able to tell you how that feels. And this semester I can.

It is terrible. Horrible. I hate every second of it.

Except this semester I am taking classes that I actually care about and am interested in so sitting through them isn't the absolute worst thing ever I suppose.

Even though I don't typically enjoy going to class, this semester so far I have been less stressed overall. By going to class it makes it easier to stay on top of everything (shocker, right?). By staying caught up I don't have to stay up for a week straight trying to teach myself all of the material before the test. And that makes me much happier and a lot less grouchy. So YOU ARE WELCOME, RACHEL.

Who knows, maybe by the end of this month I'll be way ahead of the game in my school work and I'll get more than 5 hours of sleep per night. LOL. Probably not though because that will just give me more time to hang out with friends. College.

Fruit and Water....I guess

I'm all about that soda life. And cookies. And cookie dough. And Little Debbie snacks. And pizza. Holy smokes I can't forget about pizza.

Don't get me wrong, it's not that I don't enjoy eating fruits and vegetables. Unless it's creamed corn or raw carrots/celery. Get those anywhere near me and you may get a punch to the throat.

My problems is I enjoy food and beverages that are in no way good for me. But how is that different than anybody else? You tell me you don't like the way junk food tastes and I'll call you a liar. 

My last goal that I wanted to focus on for the month of February was eating healthier and drinking more water. I wanted to learn how to cook too, but hey, baby steps. I did focus more on preparing something to eat instead of eating fast food or eating something super processed like a lunchable. I have eaten a lot of sandwiches and salads. And by a lot I mean that's pretty much all I have eaten this month with the occasional difference. 

Doing this Happiness Project and blogging about it I feel like I can't back out of anything. So this month was kinda hard for me. You know, I'm on my way home from work and I'm all, "I could really use a Rt. 44 from Sonic" and then I have to tell myself, "NO ANDI YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO DRINK WATER ONLY". So then I go home and pour myself a nice refreshing glass of boring old water. I usually feel better about my decision. Usually. 

And then there are other days when for a snack I want to eat a whole bag of chips. And since you can't quit everything cold turkey, I just eat half a bag of chips. Everything in moderation, right?

I'm not trying to eat healthier or drink water only for the most part to go "on a diet" or anything, because I know I don't need to lose weight. I'm doing this because people say that when you consume healthier foods and drinks you generally feel better. And you know, I guess my end goal for my Happiness Project is to feel better all around. And you know what? Besides the whole college thing taking every ounce of energy out of you, this month I haven't felt the need for caffeine to stay awake and I just feel healthier. Which is kinda cool. 

So ending the month of February I know I'm going to continue to try and slowly get rid of junk food and soda from my life (but not completely - I need some to make me happy). I'm also going to begin running more consistently since IT IS FINALLY ALMOST SPRING AND I DON'T HAVE TO RUN INSIDE ANYMORE BECAUSE I REALLY HATE THAT. So once this snow storm passes and we get warm weather, you can find me on the trails, because that's what I love most. 

LOL. I love giraffes.