Early Morning Exercise Is Amazing Beyond All Reason

People will constantly tell you that they are not "morning people." I think they mean that they don't like to get up early--that they would much rather go to bed late and sleep in than get to bed early and rise early. There's a seven a.m. meeting and the person who comes in late excuses himself, "I'm sorry, I'm just not a morning person!" But really what kind of an excuse is that? In the reality, even the most disciplined among us would like to sleep in. But there are so many things to do in the mornings! Our church leaders have counseled that there is "power in the mornings," indicating that it is a good time for prayer and scripture study. Also, if there's anything you need to do around the apartment that you don't want anyone else to know about, or that you don't need anyone else around for, get up early and get it done. It's likely that your roommates are just as lazy as you would normally be. But how do you go about making yourself a morning person? It really would be so much easier to just press the "snooze" button indefinitely or to just get up late like a normal person. What's the key to loving the mornings, even when you've had a late night?

I will admit that I was never a morning person either. I hated to get up for early morning seminary and relished every chance I got to sleep in until noon. This changed last summer when I participated in a swim team that practiced at 5:30 a.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. There is nothing more physically cleansing and invigorating than swimming early in the mornings. I would come home and the whole world felt beautiful and open. I was up early enough that I had time for scripture study and prayer. I had time to prepare for the day and make myself a good breakfast before work. Plus, it always feels really good to walk around all day knowing that you've exercised... at least I feel proud and happy during the day after I've exercised. This is very vain and awful, but it's fun to think to yourself, "I got up and exercised this morning... and no one else here did! Mua ha ha ha!" It's not usually quite that wicked-sounding inside my head, but if I've exercised in the morning, I feel empowered and more confident in myself. I also feel like I can eat more during the day, which doesn't really make sense if I'm trying to lose wight. However, there has been scientific research suggesting that people who exercise before noon (in the mornings) are more likely to lose weight than those who only exercise in the afternoons or evenings. So if you just want to maintain your current weight and not demoralize over eating a bowl ice cream or going out to lunch, swim in the morning... or participate in whatever kind of exercise suits your fancy.

Anyway, in the course of making myself get up for early to swim, I became a morning person, and now I love to get up early so that I can swim. I'm crazy... I know. This, of course, does not mean that I don't like to sleep in on the weekends. I would die if I had to get up at 5:30 or 6:00 every single morning of my life. The principle point is that if you want to become a morning person, want an ideal time to exercise, want to lose weight, or just want a fantastic start to your day, your should start exercising in the mornings. It's awesome. It's hard at first and makes you develop a lot of self-discipline, but it's awesome. Try working out with a group or team at first... that will make you be accountable to someone for showing up. It's a lot harder to try to do all by yourself. If I hadn't had the swim team, I'm not sure that I ever would've gotten up and gone swimming that early. If I hadn't carried that habit of early morning exercise on into college, I would probably weigh like 200 pounds right now. No joke. However, I love swimming and getting up early to swim, so if you have any inclination at all, I would recommend that you plan out your workout schedule today and begin tomorrow morning. You will only regret it for the few minutes in between when you make youself get out of bed and when you start working out. But you are tough and can get through it. I believe in you! Become a morning person and begin your early morning exercise routine as soon as possible!

Darling Little Moscow

Sledding in the wheat fields, curling up with a cup of the world's best hot cocoa in a little coffee shop downtown, swimming at 5:30 in the morning at the outdoor pool, going to lunch at the Silos or downtown, riding the Chipman trail, participating in University activities and using University facilities, going on runs in the country side, driving through the snow to early morning seminary, going on midnight Ben and Jerry's runs to Safeway, owning two adorable hunting dogs, loving life, and living it in the small town of Moscow, ID.

According to an Associated Press report a few years back, Moscow was voted one of the top ten places in the United States to raise a family. Having lived and gone to school in Moscow since I was about 10, I can see why. My siblings and I were fortunate enough to attend Lena Whitmore Elementary... the best elementary school in the world, by the way... and we were all afforded numerous opportunities throughout our childhoods to attend special cultural events like Rendezvous in the Park, the Renaissance Fair, and many others. Moscow is also very close to many outdoor opportunities... drive two hours in any direction and you can find many places to fish, hike, swim, camp, whatever. It's awesome.

One of the greatest resources that Moscow boasts is the University of Idaho. Our community is so much richer because of the many intellects and talents that the University brings. The University brings lots of new culture and diversity to Moscow. One of my good friends from high school was a Muslim from Egypt whose dad taught engineering at the University. The University also provides dual enrollment for high school students, helping them to get university credits before they even graduate from high school. Speaking of which, Moscow High School is often referred to as "The Pride of North" because students in Moscow School District generally test higher than any other students in the panhandle. There are many great clubs, sports programs, and academic programs at Moscow High School. One in particular is the Extended Learning Internship program which allows a student to design their own course and set their own goals for a semester of learning about whatever they what. I owe my present satisfaction with my declared major to this program. First semester of my senior year, I studied neuroscience... more specifically, Uniqueness and Creativity in the Brain. I had the greatest mentor ever and it was through the ELI program that I was able to fall in love with brains and determine my current major.

I had a lot of friends from high school who were so so so excited to get out of Moscow when they graduated, but I miss my little hometown. The mountains here are very nice, but I miss the rolling wheat fields, Paradise Creek, and good old Moscow Mountain... though when compared to the mountains here, Moscow Mountain was more like a nice little rise with some trees. Oh well. I still miss it and love it. I am already super excited to go home at Christmas time. Moscow truly is the best hometown in the whole world!!!

For the sake of a grade and practice in rhetoric, I will pretend that I like Freshman Academy...

Freshmen entering the college scene can sometimes feel lost, misplaced, confused, and without purpose. Though the university can set up any number of student orientation programs and print any number of helpful pamphlets, something else may be required to help students feel at home and be excited about the amazing opportunity they have to attend college. At BYU, incoming freshmen are offered this opportunity through Freshman Academy--a specialized learning community that links the new kids on campus together by providing them with housing together and by scheduling them in the same classes. BYU is a big place... there are lots of students, lots of buildings, losts of things to do, but through Freshman Academy students are awarded the opportunity to live and work together. Also, the people in your dorm and in your classes are also in your ward! Thanks to Freshman Academy, students are able to become acclimated more quickly to college life. Also, Freshman Academy requires its students to take a University 101 class which is geared at helping the student understand what it means to be a disciple-scholar and why service to community, church, and Christ is so important in conjunction with great scholarship. Freshman Academy also helps students by providing them with free student planners (wish I'd known that before I bought my own) and admission to campus events related to classes in their envelope. Overall, Freshman Academy is an amazing program that helps freshmen adjust to their new environment during their first semester on campus by providing them with housing and classes together, as well as helping instruct them in the ways of a disciple-scholar.

W&R 150-014

I am so grateful to be an BYU... a place where I know the Lord wants me to be. I have met lots of great people, and I have lots of great experiences even though it is only the first week. One of the great frustrations to me right now is the Freshman Academy. The only reason that I signed up for it was because my cousin and I were told that we would have a better chance of getting a room together if we did. Unfortunately, due partly to my bad planning, I didn't sign up in time for an envelope so I ended up in a humanities envelope when I'm really a science major. I was planning on double minoring in French and English, but because of my envelope classes, I didn't enough space left to take French 101. And I couldn't drop any of my envelope classes or I would lose my housing. The rules of Freshman Academy are uninviting and entirely too strict... if I could do it over again, I would not have chosen to participate in Freshman Academy. Also, I got a 5 on the AP English Literature and Composition test, so in theory, I shouldn't have to take an introductory college level writing course. But freshman writing was part of my envelope so there was nothing I could do about it! I know that I will have good experiences in my academy classes, but I still wish that I didn't have to take them because they're repeating things I've already learned and they have prevented me from minoring in French.

Okay... so I have a blog... how exciting!