Why I love Serena Williams

I have found myself discussing this frequently as of late, so I've decided to dedicate an entire blog post to it :o).

I love Serena Williams.  I am inspired by her athleticism.  She's a phenomenal athlete and seems to be getting better with time.  She makes it very easy to be a fan.

I love a lot of other things about her too.  I remember when I was younger, and she and Venus started gaining fame, I heard so many racist and rude comments about her and her body.  It's sad to me that for some people she, as a woman, is just reduced to what she looks like, regardless of how powerful and strong she physically is.  But such is the world we live in.  I actually find her body very attractive (though again, her athletic ability is FAR more important and relevant in my opinion), and it is actually quite similar to my own.  Beauty can take many forms, and to me strong is beautiful.  The mass that many black women naturally have is different than so called "standards" of beauty that society generally holds.  But it's great that Serena is different and yet beautiful in her own, unique way.  It's a very positive thing for young girls with our shape to see and love.

I love her for her passion.  I know there are many frowny faces regarding her behavior at times, and that's understandable.  There are many athletes I can't get into because of what I perceive to be their character.  But I am inclined to believe that her actions mostly always stem from her passion for her sport.  She was just as elated to win her 18th Grand Slam as she was her 1st.  And she is equally frustrated when she loses.  I think this is a great character trait.  And for those times she has clearly gone overboard, I can forgive her.  We forgive people all the time for things much worse, and we should.  She's human too.

I love her for believing in herself.  She is the minority in a sport of majorities, but she believes in herself.  This is something that obviously resonates quite heavily with me (I am a black (and female) mathematician.  We are few).  I often talk about how being the "only" is constant silent reinforcement that you shouldn't be there.  "No one else like me has succeeded in this.  Why should I think that I will?"  But she does.  She gives it her all anyway.  And because of her, there are countless other people who are letting her show them that they can succeed too.

I love Serena Williams.  May you be as inspired by your favorite athlete <3.

New month, new chance

I love the first of the month, and not just because of Bone Thugs 'n Harmony.  To me the first of the month is a new beginning, and a chance to strive to be better.  Better than the you you were last month.  I find new month "resolutions" way more effective than new year's.  I find I can accomplish much more if the end is in sight, and I believe most people can do just about anything for one month. Chalk it up to ADD, it's just easier to stay focused for the short term.  This is why most people are over their new year's resolutions by February.  I encourage you to regularly set short term goals.  Ask yourself, how can I be better this month than I was last month?  Then do that ;-).

This month one of my main focuses is sleep.  I have very odd sleep habits.  I am both a morning person and a bit of a night owl, which makes for disorganization.  I get up really early to work out and then work all day, and by the time i get home i am convinced I am beat.  Sometimes I am, but i am noticing i'm never too tired to do fun stuff, just adult stuff like prepping my gym bag for the next day and washing dishes.  I think if i kept a regular sleep schedule i could differentiate actual exhaustion from excuses.  To help me with this goal, I bought a Fitbit.  I was hoping it could tell when i was sleeping (e.g. when I doze off while watching tv), but it actually requires you to push a button when you climb into bed, and then push it again when you climb out.  I am thinking that this may serve its purpose anyway.  Before it arrived I was hoping I would find that all my cat naps + the few hours of sleep I get each night would add up to 6-8 hours.  But I am thinking that developing the habit of climbing into bed with purpose, and then climbing out is a better aim.  It is quite a bit of data, and a lot of it is data I already have.  I downloaded the app this morning, and laughed at myself when I realized that about 98.7% of the 4000 apps I have are somehow related to fitness.  But I suppose it is a good obsession to have.  Anyway, we will see how useful I find it.  Hopefully I'll at least catch some better zzzz's.

Here's a photo from the weekend which my friend titled "muscle butts" lol.  My favorite part about making fitness a part of your lifestyle is that you can hop into a swimsuit at a moments notice and be content with the photos that surface afterwards.  Earlier in my journey, swimsuits required preparation, angst, and sometimes really extreme eating practices.  I'm glad those days are behind me.  Hope you all had a good Labor Day weekend.  Back to the grind :-/.