With WLS Symposium now in the rearview mirror, among many other crazy commitments this semester, I am excited to really be narrowing my focus. This past week and the craziness of making Symposium a two-day event with six speaking events in total (as opposed to a one-day event with one panel featuring two speakers) was a labor of love and, hopefully, one that people enjoyed. We had several distinguished guests who spoke on different aspects of Equality (gender, racial, political, etc.). We heard some things we already knew, and we also learned some new things. We heard some things that were incredibly outrageous, both good and bad. In the end, we learned by listening and continue to learn by discussing these speeches even the day after the event came to its eventual conclusion. In a word, it was intense. I spent 12 hours each day of Symposium simply being at the school - for a total of 24hours over the course of two days. Yikes!
Inevitably, the desire to make Symposium as professional as it could be had a negative impact on my workout/weightloss goal for the week. While I'm still down 10lbs from when I started, I started the week down 12.6. I know that I shouldn't beat myself up over it, and I don't plan on it. However, it is somewhat upsetting for me to realize the relative ease with which I can gain weight compared to the relative difficulty entailed in losing weight. The challenge, however, inspires me. I started the day by eating the things that I usually do, the things I associate with the journey I am currently on, the journey to looking more like myself. Thankfully, lunchtime today revealed that I haven't lost my willpower - I refused one of my absolute favorite sweets (funfetti cake with funfetti frosting). So, I remain committed. I hope that next time I write I'll have more uplifting and fewer disappointing news bits to share. I raise a giant glass of water to the next 5lbs! (Here's hoping, anyway).
In the meantime, here is a list of quotes that inspire me:
You want me to do something... tell me I can't do it. -Maya Angelou
Pain is temporary, pride is forever - Unknown
How am I to know what I can achieve if I quit? - Jason Bishop
Today I will do the things that other people won't, so tomorrow I can do the things that other people can't - Unknown
To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift - Steve Prefontaine
Even in the most difficult situation there is always, somehow, a way to triumph - Ralph Marston
Where the loser saw barriers, the winner saw hurdles - Robert Brault
Winners have simply formed the habit of doing things losers don't like to do - Albert Gray
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit - Aristotle
Once you learn to quit, it becomes a habit - Vince Lombardi
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