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By 22, you should…..
Remember when we were in middle school and it was “cute” to play dumb? (Actually I think some people mistakenly believe it still is.) That one TV show, The Simple Life, revolved around Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie. The girls would ask what Wal Mart was and we would laugh at their adorable stupidity. Then this trend took off and instantly a nation of girls thought it was funny and adorable to play the airhead role. Granted at 13, we make many questionable decisions (gaucho pants, blue tinted sunglasses, bangs, etc.) But I would hope that by 22 we would start to realize that ignorance or idiocy (feigned or not) has long lost its place in our character.
Next month I will celebrate my 22nd birthday (refrain from any T-Swift reference please.) And then its just a couple short months until I’m a college graduate. A full-on “grown up.” There are certain things a self-sufficient member of society ought to be able to do.
- Budget. And by budget, I mean prioritize purchasing necessities over random splurges. If you habitually pick up a coffee or a latte but can’t seem to afford your own paper towels or shampoo…it’s time to reevaluate. In a couple months, you will be done with college (or maybe you already are). You can no longer use the excuse ‘broke college student’. If you’re broke, it’s because you don’t know how to budget or prioritize. No one likes that one friend who’s constantly mooching off their stuff, asking for favors and never offering anything in return.
- Paint your own nails. I’m still working on this one! I was spoiled growing up, and I didn’t start painting my own nails until freshman year of college. Manicured hands make a difference in your overall appearance though, so I’ll stick with the pale colors for now ;)
- Iron your clothes. None of my friends even own an iron, and judging by the wrinkled polo’s and mussed crop tops, I would say neither does the rest of campus. (It should also be stated that leggings are not pants, and ironing said leggings will not make them pants.) Ironing your clothes is important for your appearance; wrinkles look sloppy. You can’t get away with the sloppy look outside of Sociology 101.
- End the texting games. I know a girl who is on her phone 24/7, yet she has a strict rule that she can’t text back within 5-10 minutes. She says it makes you look too eager. WTH? Sounds like a big waste of 5 minutes every time you want to respond to someone. You’re too old for senseless time-frame rules.
- Stop showing up late on purpose. Fear of being the first one there…guess what, if everyone showed up on time it wouldn’t matter! Showing up half an hour late acting like you had something more important is an insult. Constantly running behind means you are lazy or just can’t manage time. Either way, you’re too old for this.
- RSVP. So here’s a scenario: a friend invites you to her house for movie night in 2 days. You’re waiting for something better to come along so you don’t answer her until a couple hours before the movie starts. Um, invite rescinded! People who extend invitations, no matter how casual, deserve a legitimate response. Constantly keeping plans ‘tentative’ while holding out for something better is selfish. Stop that.
- Own a vacuum. By now you are living away from your parents, or getting ready to. Whether you share an apartment, rent a condo, whatever….being a grown up means owning grown-up things like a vacuum. Should probably also have non-plastic dishes and a bed frame by now.
- Talk on the phone. In an age where teacher’s tweet the class, younger generations have a fear of speaking on the phone. It’s unnatural and all to personal for us. There is something so charming about having a landline phone and personally calling up a friend just to talk about the day. We should do this more.
- Learn how to follow a recipe. (No the instructions on the mac n’ cheese box don’t count.) A lot of college meals consist of cheap pastas, frozen boxes or leftovers. Taking the time to cook an actual meal will be well worth it when you graduate and become a real self-sufficient adult who gets their nutrients and all that good stuff ;)
So that’s my list. Did I forget anything? Do you agree?
Let’s Start Again…
After 99 days, I’ve returned to blogging. :) I mean it this time! The first half of my senior year of college went very differently than I imagined. I could sugar-coat the year but honestly…..it blew. My schedule was so demanding that I had very little energy to put into anything creative and active.
But I won’t blame being “busy” on my hiatus. Through the fall (the first fall in 8 years that I was not participating in competitive cross country) I had to think of how I wanted to restructure my blog. “Student-athlete perspective on health and fitness” isn’t exactly appropriate anymore since A.) I’ll be graduating in 16 weeks and B.) my collegiate athlete days have come to an end. Reading back through a lot of my old posts, Strong Like My Coffee sometimes comes across like a “how-to” guide to being healthy. Well I’m not qualified to offer constant health and fitness advice, so I figured a little change in objectives was in order here.
This began as a platform for sharing workouts, recipes and health advice. Turns out you can find the same workouts on 63,783,564 sites in this world wide web. My recipes are simply copies or altered versions of other recipes. And as far as “advice”…..I just feel a little silly pouring out health and fitness tips as a 21-year old figuring it out myself.
Obviously my life will always be connected to health and running, but I’m not a health preacher or teacher. I don’t know it all! I would definitely say that a contributing factor to my lack of posts last semester was fear of looking like a hypocrite. Sharing the workouts and the smoothies and the salads without also sharing the frozen yogurt, the skipped run, or the extra peppermint mochas would seem deceiving. Like most bloggers, I can always share my own experiences with striking balance & a healthy lifestyle but I don’t see my blog as a guide or a “how-to” for health and fitness. Not a guru, just a girl who likes to run :)
So then I thought about quitting the blog altogether. I absolutely did NOT want this to become: a journal, diary, or place to brag, complain, vent, preach, or glamorize my life. It’s a tricky balance to create content that is entertaining and positive and focused around a theme. But I don’t like quitting. ;) So I’ve decided to expand my “theme” beyond straight health & fitness to all things domestic…
I don’t know if I’ve mentioned in the past two years of posts, but I am fascinated with the 1950’s and the housewife culture. I am, by no means, a feminist. Not that I judge anyone’s opinions on gender roles in the 21st century, but I personally like the Donna Reed era (It’s a Wonderful Life is one of my favorite movies). It’s emphasis on dressing feminine and classy (heels, skirts and bows), domestic duties like cooking, baking and cleaning, and maintaining discretion (AKA a little social-media-modesty) is refreshing.
I would like to keep my apartment organized and decorated, prepare and cook all of my (mostly healthy) meals, make a mean mojito or manhattan, send thank you notes, read more books, make more phone calls, write and blog, watch the news, take walks outside, curl my hair, paint my nails, and learn to host a cocktail party (sans red solo cups). So why not blog about that (there’s only so many running recaps and protein smoothies you can take anyways, right?!)
More Memories, Less Selfies.
I even created a “Domesticated” Pinterest board with more elaborate and hearty recipes for when I cook for other people (because apparently not everybody craves arugala and fennel.)
So what are my New Year’s Resolutions?
I HAVE NONE.
January 1st just felt like another day, not an impending deadline to come up with new goals. Plus 2015 is full of big moments (graduating college!!!!) and the unknown (finding a job???) that I would rather take as it comes. :)
Christmas on the beach, only in So Cal :)
I’m optimistically thinking my upcoming semester will be significantly better than the previous. But instead of promising that I’ll start posting more, I’ll just prove it to you. ;)
-Love Kenzie
What happened to September?
Remember when weekends meant being able to sleep in and have some time to actually relax?
Good times. :)
My “free time” is currently combined with the 45 minutes to an hour I use to get in a workout or go for a run each day….but I shouldn’t complain because I am greeted with views as beautiful as this:
Is that not the most gorgeous center-divider you’ve ever seen? I swear those leaves are that saturated in real life. That totally set the mood for my long run Sunday that I tackled by myself in the afternoon with yet another SOLID playlist. Specifically:
{Daughtry’s new single Utopia; Famous by Kelleigh Bannen; Running with the Boys by LIGHTS; How to be a Heartbreaker by Marina and the Diamonds; Superheroes by The Script; Fire by Gavin DeGraw and Surrender by Cash Cash}
It finally feels like fall. Full on chilly air, chai tea, scarves and boots, football games, tailgate parties, roasted acorn squash and yellow leaves FALL. My roommate even brought home a carved pumpkin this past weekend that is currently residing on our kitchen counter. Some people say it’s a bit premature but I say WHO MADE THE RULES.
Now I have a week of autumnal life to catch up on. I definitely won’t admit to the fact that I’m blogging instead of editing the research assignment due tomorrow…… ;)
Remember last semester when I couldn’t stop going to Sedona for solo getaways? It happened again. I don’t think I’ll make a habit of it because I’ve found a few cute and more importantly local places to bring my homework. One of which conveniently includes my dining room. Go figure.
But it was a glorious, sunshine-y, short little reminder that I live in a pretty spectacular place.
I was able to concentrate on GRE and “quantitative reasoning” for about 3 hours before the sunshine and my growling stomach told me it was time to pack it up. I made it home before a massive thunderous storm rolled in for the weekend, which I whole-heartedly welcomed because I think the dark skies and the sound of rain are so comfy and cozy.
Fortunately our second home football game of the season took place in an INDOOR stadium, so our fans and players didn’t get soaked during their epic WIN in the last quarter. In the last 2 minutes! It was a thrilling game, partly because I got one of the best seats in the house:
Yep, I was feeling pretty fly sitting up in the media box. Next to me was the Director of Marketing, the Announcer, the Camera/Video Director, and the Digital Media Designer. I got a ton of hands on experience working with the video and advertisement screens. Another day in the life of a new sports marketing intern :)
Tangent –> Anyone else done the new iOS update? I was super excited when I saw the new “HEALTH” app put on the front screen on my phone. But I can’t figure out what to do with it! Am I completely missing something? It seems like it could be a great tool…..help me! :)
I’ll wrap up this hodge podge of a recap now as I pour some coffee and join my roommate in our GRE study session. T-17 days til test day! Welcome, October :)
