5K complete!

3.125 miles in 34:40! Go me! =)

5K dreams

If you like inspirational quotes, you are going to love this blog. I thrive off of them. For some reason, seeing a good quote is like a push of confidence in myself.

I'm posting this quote because it has so much importance behind it. It can honestly be related to any aspect of a person's life.

Today it is pushing me to run. I have wanted to run a 5K for a really long time. For over a year now I have said, "I wish I could run a 5K," but never "I will run a 5K." It was always a goal, but I never turned it into an opportunity by signing up for one.

Finally, two weeks ago I got this inspiration to sign up for my beautiful city of Chicago's 5K Polar Dash. I was so excited for my first race! I was training outside, borrowing running clothes from running friends, and even bought a new pair of running shoes.

That race should have been today, but a few days ago I got the bad news.. Because of the horrible snow storms we have had the past few days, my 5K has been postponed. I wish that I could participate in it still, but it will be in one week when I am back in school and it just doesn't make sense to do all the traveling back and forth.

I have decided that I am going to keep my 5K goals. I am going to run in my 5K today. It may not be in the setting that I imagined, but it is going to finally be turned into an "I will run a 5K." I hope that you look at your life and see what you can turn an "I wish" into an "I will."

♥Ann

Picture borrowed from http://weheartit.com/jayoung1315

Live, Laugh and Love

Sometimes I wish that life was easy. I think, how great would it be to wake up and have the perfect house, the perfect body, the perfect family, the perfect friends, the perfect job, the perfect everything.

Just think about it... Life would be great.

Wouldn't it?

My life has not been extremely hard, but it certainly has not been a walk in the park either. I grew up being an only child to two loving, hard-working, middle class parents. Fortunately, they were able to give me all the necessities in life and a few extra things as well. I went to school, participated in extra-curricular activities and worked a few hours a week.

I knew that I needed to work hard at all the things I did so I could get into a good college and choose a career that I loved. Neither of my parents went to college and because of this they were kind of stuck in jobs that they worked at for many years and highly disliked. My dad wanted me to go to college so badly that he told me if I didn't go to college, he was going to kick me out of the house. It was just his way of making sure that I was able to be as happy as I can be with life. He did not tell me that I had to be a doctor or a lawyer or make all the money in the world, he just wanted me to love what I do.

My hard work paid off and landed me a spot in the class of 2012 at one of the top colleges in my state. Now, in my senior year, I see how college has provided me with so many opportunities and experiences that I will cherish for my entire life.

Throughout all this I have dealt with my share of heart-brakes, losses of friends, and disappointments in different aspects of life, just like everyone else has. The thing is, nothing has ever been as hard as June 11th, 2009. It was the day that changed my life forever. The day started as a normal day. I went to work my summer camp job during the day and then went to my summer school class at the local community college at night. When I got home from class, my dad was not feeling well and next thing I knew, we were taking him to the hospital...

My dad passed away from a heart attack that night. Like I said, it was the hardest day of my life. I was fatherless at the age of 19 and my mother was a widow at the age of 52. Our lives would change forever. Luckily, my mom and I had each other, our family, and our friends. They were some of the best support we could ever ask for.

After the funeral people asked me if I was going to take time off from school, stay home with my mom, and heal. I never thought about doing any of those things. People may have thought I was selfish for not staying home with my mom or cold-hearted for jumping back into things, but I knew that in my heart, my dad would not have wanted me to do those things. He would not have wanted me to stop living life to the fullest because he was gone. My dad was always so full of happiness. When he would walk in the room, people would automatically smile and laugh. He was honestly one of the best men I have ever known.

So when I think about the perfect life, I think about a few things. I think that it would be a lot easier if I had one. I also think about that if I did, I would not be the twenty-two year old woman that I am today. I also think that I need to live, laugh and love life, because life is too short to do anything but that.

6/10/58 - 6/11/09