I think your 20's are years of constant change. In your 20's you are both a child and an adult- you go to school, live with your parents, move out on your own, get a "real" job, and probably get married and start your own family all in one decade. Quite possibly it is the most diverse decade of your life. This can be both exciting and scary!
In the past year of my life, I have had a lot of change... Last year, I was living with my mom after finishing college and I taught my first year in a 3rd grade classroom in Sioux Falls, SD (which is also where I grew up, and will always be my *true* home ;) ). I then got engaged to my now husband, Peter, and we made the decision to move to the west side of the twin cities because he was offered a job he just couldn't pass up. This was very hard at the time, but I left my job and my family in Sioux Falls and we were married last summer on July 22nd, 2011 (our 1st anniversary is right around the corner!). We found an apartment in Plymouth, MN to live in after the wedding. This was going to be the first time either of us had lived on our own, and I still didn't have a job at the time! Talk about a leap of faith! Lots of learning was to come for us through these experiences! The day after we arrived back from our honeymoon in Costa Rica, we moved into our apartment and I interviewed with a small Catholic School in Wayzata, MN. I got the job and was simply elated!
We had been looking to buy our own house for a while, and with us both being employed, we decided it was the perfect time. After hundreds of house showings with a very patient realtor, we ended up deciding to build a new house in Maple Grove, MN. We moved into the house on in January of 2012 and everything seemed to be going swimmingly! I was loving my job, loving my husband, and loving being able to decorate our own space! Peter was doing extremely well at his job, too, what more could I ask for? There's always a bump in the road....
The enrollment at my school went down 20% so the school wasn't able to renew the contracts of the 2 newest teachers (me being one of them). Many tears were shed over this. I loved my job teaching 2nd grade, the school and the community were just a dream. But I picked myself up, and started applying for jobs like crazy! I was pretty much stalking the Archdiocese of Minneapolis/St. Paul website. I got an interview with a public middle school in the Wayzata district and I was stoked because that is such a great district to be in, but I was quickly disappointed after being turned down for not having any middle school experience. I also interviewed for a 5th grade position at a Catholic school in Rogers and was all set to take that, when I received a call from my principal at the Catholic school I had been teaching at in Wayzata. She said the 6th grade position had unexpectedly opened up and she wanted to offer it to me. I could hardly believe it. Even though I was a bit hesitant at first to jump from teaching 2nd grade to 6th grade, I truly do feel that it was meant to be that it unfolded this way. I accepted the position, and I feel so blessed to be continuing on at such an amazing school. I've already been preparing for next year!
After all the changes we've tackled this past year, Peter and I have come out happy, healthy, and even more in love. Through all the turbulence of life, I don't think we could ask for much more.
I've started going to a heat yoga class as well that is heated to 108 degrees. A little less intense without the waits and cardio, but the heat in itself makes it quite a sweaty work out. Before finding these two classes I was kind of in an exercise slump for a while after the wedding. You know the drill: elliptical, exercise bike, maybe a couple reps with weights. Boring. After finding these two classes that I love so much, I was reminded how important it is to ENJOY your exercise! Now this doesn't mean the same thing for everyone, but if you don't enjoy what you're doing, eventually you're not going to do it anymore. It's kind of the same reason I don't believe in diets. If the way you're eating is making you feel like you are depriving yourself, you're never going to stick to it. You have to make a lifestyle change. I love pizza, Mexican, and all Asian varieties of food, so even though they're not the healthiest choices, there's no way I would ever realistically be able to cut them out. It's all about moderation both in how often you eat these types of foods and how much you eat of them when you do.