2018: Mid-Year Mark

Hey there! So many drafts but no published posts since April 26. For the first time since this blog’s inception in December 2016, I missed a month in writing on WordPress! It’s not anything I’m proud of but if you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you’ll know I’m a medical student so life gets really busy sometimes. With no travel posts to write at this time, I thought it fitting to reunite with my blog through a more personal post and check-in as we near the mid-year mark of 2018.

Self Care

Oh, hasn’t this been booming? A common excuse I hear is “I don’t have time to do X or Y.” I’m guilty of this excuse a lot too but it’s one I try to stop myself from making because let’s face it: life only gets busier. If you genuinely love or want to do something, you’ll make time for it. The same people who say this are usually up-to-date on whatever the latest celebrity has done on social media or the latest viral video or even up-to-date on a whole series! Yet they can’t find time to cook, eat better, workout, explore a corner of Jamaica they’ve been longing to visit if they had the time, read an inspirational book, meditate etc. Not this girl.

This girl has been eating better (read: less bread, rice, salt, sugar; more sweet potatoes, oatmeal, meat-free meals, legumes, fruits and intuitive eating). Vegetables for me still need some work though.  And what’s intuitive eating you may ask? That’s when you listen to your body’s natural hunger cues to determine when to eat, rather than eating all the time or eating when you’ve been programmed to eat, i.e. at the movies, while studying, watching TV, mid-morning etc. You’ll realize your body does a pretty good job of notifying you when to eat, much like how your gas light comes up when your car’s low on fuel.  I’ve gotten back to A+ for my water game too, having an average of 7 glasses on non workout/ cooler days and 9-10 on workout/hotter days. I’ve been comfort eating less and reading more, even if most of that reading still comes from Thought Catalog and online quotes.

At the start of 2018, I made a resolution with my BFF to be active every single day in some sort of way and I’m proud to say I’ve not completely failed! As of today, I’ve had 2,495 fitness minutes! That’s over 41 hours of physical activity, not including the increased frequency with which I’ve been cleaning house or choosing stairs over lifts etc. I must admit though that since May I’ve had a 12lb weight goal which I’m committed to meeting by year-end. It’s even got me looking up the science behind intermittent fasting. If anyone reading this has used it in the past or is on it currently, share your experience in the comments (only crescendo method or 16/8 I’ll accept as healthy). If I eventually try it and reap any benefits, I’ll write a blog post on it.

Also, I created an account on Sparkpeople, the best weight gain/ loss/ maintenance tool available on the Internet, trust me. This is where I’ve been tracking my fitness minutes. If you’re interested in making healthy sustainable lifestyle choices to achieve your best weight, fitness level etc., check out Sparkpeople. There’s a teen version called Sparkteens which I’d used at 17/18 years old to lose 20 lbs and have since lost and effortlessly kept off 35lbs total. If you’re interested in hearing about that too, I’ll write about it. Predominantly this space is meant for travel writing so if you want me to veer off topic every now and again, it’s best you let me know. 😊

Career

I’ll likely be m.i.a. a lot more too over time as I’ve exhausted most of the places on my list which are physically near to me, and it’s not so easy to pop into say St. Elizabeth afterschool as it was to pop into Castleton Gardens one afternoon as I did last June. Also, I should add that I’m in final year of medical school now. Medicine in the Commonwealth is available as an undergraduate degree and lasts for 5 years instead of 4 like the USA system, so yes, that makes me a fifth year student. I have a lot to say about that too but I’m not sure how much of it I can express diplomatically (at least not tonight) and I’m not sure how many of you would be interested in reading that. Instead, I vent to my mother, journal and the few friends who will have me at times when my annoyance, frustration or despair bubbles over. Mind you, it isn’t all bad, trust me. Medicine is just a lot different from I’d expected it to be, and there’s no way to really understand until you or someone close enough to you is in the field to share their experiences. And then, medicine is different for everyone. I know many who have never had serious second thoughts and race out of bed in the mornings happy to read for their degree. Me? I have second thoughts nearly every day but I’ve grown used to having them there, and deep down inside I can’t picture myself doing anything else. At least not right now. It’s some sort of sick irony or paradox (ha!). And yes, I know I shouldn’t complain but allow me to do what’s human nature, i.e. complain sometimes. 🙃

Travel

Fave travel for the year so far: Kwame Falls.

Number of new places visited/explored so far: 10.

Places I’m looking forward to visiting/ writing about by year end:

-see bucket list 2018

-In addition,

• Guts River & Beach, Manchester
• Reach Falls, Portland
• Mountain River Falls & Cave, St. Catherine
• Tentatively, the Appleton Estate Rum Tour & Pelican Bar but we’ll see.

Blog Growth

In addition to page updates, I’ve been adding pinnable graphics to a few of my favourite/ most popular posts so far. Feel free to pin a few if Pinterest is your thing. Also, I’m happy to say that this year has already surpassed 2017 with over 1,000 more views and 300+ more visitors.

Life Lessons

Ooh aren’t these plenty. But for now, my favourite for the year: slow and steady wins the race.

Wrap Up

Lastly, I’m pretty flattered people still find this space and subscribe and like things and leave comments despite 2 months of inactivity. If this is the first post you’re seeing since subscribing and you’re expecting more local travel stuff, bear with me. I’ll update as soon as I have a shareable adventure (ha!) which should be soon (fingers crossed, 🤞🏼).

Take care!

Leave your comfort zones. Travel lots! Even if it’s just to the neighbourhood park down the street. 👣

Roch.

Xx

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