Stiffen up that upper lip, boys don’t cry, boys will be boys, man up et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. Society places such an emphasis on men to be the bearer of all things without any hint of vulnerability or emotion. Be the bread winner, the tough guy, the manly man, be strong, have muscles, […]
Read moreHow Now Brown Cow
I can’t be the only one who immediately thinks of the poop emoji when they think of the color brown, right? Hello, it’s me, the newest addition to the flocks of fecal colored Jiu Jitsu practitioners adorned with a crisp new brown belt, or faixa marrom as the cultured folk say. While I am, in […]
Read moreDon’t Let Me Get Me
This will be the year that I stop self sabotaging, I just need to keep repeating that mantra over and over. I am so guilty of this, in life, on the mats, even with my own family, and I hate myself and feel so much shame over it. This past weekend is such a good […]
Read moreEverything Hurts; Enjoy the Ride
Sometimes, it can be pretty cathartic to vent out our grievances, but it also bares in mind the question of when it’s acceptable to complain about a handful of things and when it just becomes annoying. No one likes a complainer Karen, so chill out with your degenerative disks and arthritic fingers. Guess what, if […]
Read moreJingle Hells
The stockings are hung, the presents are wrapped, the tree is decorated, and the Jameson has been opened. From the outside looking in, my house now resembles the ideal pinterest image, but if people only knew the truth lurking just below the surface, instead of sugar plum fairies dancing in my head, I am personally […]
Read moreDon’t Stop Me Now
One life on this Earth. Just the one. Imagine just sitting idly by, watching the minutes pass to hours, then days, then weeks, and then years, never knowing what you are fully capable of. Sure, it might be a risk to put ourselves out there, but isn’t our happiness a risk worth taking? Hard work […]
Read moreHead, Shoulders, Knees, Plateaus
If you’ve trained Jiu Jiitsu for a significant amount of time and can say with the utmost confidence that you have never felt undeserving of your rank, I’m calling shenanigans right now. Some days you go on the mats kicking butt as the hammer, and other days you get pounded as the nail (I’m also […]
Read moreStress Less, Live Best
I spent years of my life being a perfectionist. Slaving over my work and striving for achievements until I excelled. I was a straight A student, involved in multiple clubs and extra curricular activities, volunteered in my spare time and played on a variety of Varsity sports teams. I was on the Dean’s list, the […]
Read moreGetting Comfortable Being Uncomfortable
When I write these blogs, I like to imagine myself akin to Carrie Bradshaw a la Sex and the City, but I probably more accurately resemble Oscar the Grouch, clacking annoyingly away at my keyboard from the trash can that is my life. I’m dumped on. A lot. At work, at home, on the mats, […]
Read moreI’ll Be There Forever
I admit that I mess up a lot. Life doesn’t come with a manual on the correct ways to handle every situation and I stumble my way through most of them like a comatose patient emerging from a paralytic state. I honestly don’t know how people choose to be seen with me in public some […]
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