marathoner452

20 years ago I . . . was two years old and an only child and sat at the kitchen table wondering who would sit in that seat across from me. 2 1/2 years later my twin sisters were born.

10 years ago I . . . got inspired to run marathons by watching someone collapse finishing the 1996 Olympic Marathon in Atlanta, Georgia. This is quite some sport I got myself into.

5 years ago I . . . graduated from high school.

3 years ago I . . . ran the Frederick Marathon in 4:55, my second of five marathons (so far).

1 year ago I . . . graduated from college, almost went to Africa, and accepted an AmeriCorps position with the Red Cross.

So far this year I . . . ran a marathon PR of 15 minutes with a 4:14 finish at NCR in November of 2005 and saw New Orleans for the first time in 19 years.

Yesterday I . . . had a free Caribbean Jerk burrito at California Tortilla.

Today I . . . have been productive at work which I use to justify time taken out to write in my journal.

Tomorrow I will . . . teach Cub Scouts about emergency preparedness and wilderness safety.

In the next year I will . . . decide where I want to go after my AmeriCorps term is up. Decisions, decisions.

~Bethany

100 things that make me happy

~Bethany

Might as well start at the beginning and work from there. Week 1 of 2005.

The Ten Stepping Stones.
Think about where you are in your life right now. Now think back to your beginnings: where you were born, who your parents were, what were the circumstances of your birth. In this exercise, you will look at your life and explore how you got from your birth beginnings to where you are right now.

You will write ten stepping stones. Start with your birth as number one. Now think about the turning points in your life that nudged you in one direction that changed the shape of who you are or the direction you were going.

A stepping stone could be a physical move: your family moving from Australia to England, maybe, or from Springfield PA to Oxford Pa, in the U.S. Stepping stones can also be important changes in relationships: the birth of a sibling, the death of a parent, a marriage, a divorce. Whatever change shifted the direction of your life. Think about your life chronologically and note the turning points.

Stepping stones can also be internal, such as things that you've learned (like how to read!) or changes in your inner landscape. I always use the example of Malcolm X. He had a huge turning point when he was sent to prison. That was a physical reality that changed everything. He had another huge turning point when he converted to Islam. That was an inner reality that also changed his life forever.

At this point in my class, I admit that I've gone on and on too long, and it's time for them to write. I always add, though, that ten is really an arbitrary number. It helps to start with that number, however, as it keeps the project from getting TOO huge, with the journaler writing every tiny change, or from getting too small, with the journaler not thinking hard enough about the subtle but immensely important changes. If you have just a few more than ten stepping stones listed or one or two less, that's okay.

1. Born August 3rd, 1983.
2. November 1st, 1987, twin sisters born-no longer an only child, had to learn how to entertain myself and how to be an example for others.
3. 1st grade I got tubes put in my ears and I stopped missing so much school because of ear infections. On the one hand, I never really learned how to swim because I wouldn't go underwater without my fingers in my ears, but on the other hand my love of reading really took off.
4. March 17th, 1991, brother born. I KNEW he was going to be born on St. Patrick's Day but no one believed me and I was right! Ha!
5. 4th grade I started playing the clarinet, leading to a lifelong appreciation of music. I kept playing until I graduated from high school 9 years later.
6. Senior year of high school I took AP American history where we read a book called The Peculiar Institution about American antebellum slavery. It would be the inspiration for my senior thesis in college 4 years later.
7. September 11th, 2001. 3 weeks into my freshman year of college the world as we knew it changed forever.
8. March 2002. I completed an Outward Bound sea kayaking course in the Bahamas, and I still didn't know how to swim. My pale German skin was sunburnt beyond belief and I almost had to be airlifted out of the islands for sun poisoning. I'm not kidding. That's exactly what happened to another girl on my course and I wasn't far behind.
9. October 27th, 2002. This remedial gym student from elementary school finished the 27th Marine Corps Marathon in 4 hour and 52 minutes, the first of at least 5 and likely many more marathons.
10. April 30th, 2005. I turned turned in my senior college thesis, 56 pages entitled Slavery and Freedom in Key West and St. Mary's County.
11. May 14th, 2005. Graduated from St. Mary's College magna cum laude (if just barely) in history with a concentration in Africa and the African Diaspora.
12. August 29th, 2005. The day I start working for the American Red Cross, Katrina hits.

I'm sure there are more, but those are the biggies.

~Bethany

Time to get caught up on my journaleers homework.  :-)

"Since it seems some struggled with last week's homework, or simply had a tough week to get through, this week's homework is designed to be as light or as heavy as you choose to make it. I pulled a list of journaling prompts off of an elementary school website. Simply fill out the list, making your answers as short or as long as you like."

I am happy when...I finish a long run on a hot day and I get a big lemon-lime snowball afterwards, when I finish a long conversation with a good friend, when my red rice and beans turns out just right, when I finish a good book and I just know all is right with the world, when I'm listening to any Jimmy Buffett CD, when I get to sleep in past 8 am.
I get excited when...I win the women's division of a race and get to take home an apple pie, which actually happened about a week ago.  Yay for tiny club races!
I wish I could...get rid of the space below this journaling prompt, travel the world without worrying about the cost/take another Outward Bound course (Alaska, Minnesota, northern Rockies-I don't care as long as I get out of my comfort zone and don't have access to a shower for a couple of weeks), live by the water/hang out on my dad's 43-foot hand-built sailboat more often.

When I can't sleep I...honestly, that doesn't happen too often.  I'm usually too tired from running.
I'm not afraid of...taking risks.  The biggest risk really is not taking one-we have regrets for the things we didn't do, not the things we did.
I'm most proud of...graduating from college magna cum laude (3.7 GPA), running my first marathon, completing an Outward Bound sea kayaking course without knowing how to swim.
I want to improve on...the cleanliness of my room.  There is no excuse for not sorting through dorm room stuff or for having such an exceptionally messy closet.
I am afraid of...losing my idealism and giving into popular culture.  That's why I read and run and keep in touch with my friends when most people are glued to the TV.


"Have fun!"  This is fun.  Now maybe this journal will actually be interesting. 

~Bethany