New Season, New Life

Hey everyone :)

Yesterday was a really enlightening day. I'm dying waiting for school to start and to finish my degree. I want to do things now that will help me be who I want to be. So yesterday I started two things.

C25K
I've been wanting to start this for forever but I kept putting it off for one reason or another. There are always excuses that you can come up with, but yesterday I just was in the mood to get off my butt and start doing things. So I completed Week 1 Day 1 of the challenge. Even though it may seem extremely easy to a lot of you, it was a huge feat for me to complete 20 minutes of walking/running. I wanted to quit halfway through. I figured that doing some of it was better than none of it but I wanted to do this. I always quit and this was something I wanted to accomplish.

I'm writing this here in hopes of it keeping me more accountable. I figure that if I think there are people I am reporting to that maybe it'll help me go back. It is only three days a week so there is no excuse of not having time. I really would like to lose about 30lbs and this will help me get there. I've never been a runner but my goal is that at the end of this program I'll be able to run a color run or a Disney marathon. Keep me going people!

French
I have always wanted to learn another language. I've always regretted my mom not teaching me chinese when I was younger. Other languages fascinate me. I was supposed to learn another language when I went away to the Air Force long ago but obviously that didn't work out. I've regretted the opportunity to learn a language there too. I was in Spanish classes during high school and even my first year of college but it never stuck. I am on a quest now though to learn French. I love French. I think it is a beautiful language and everyone down here doesn't speak it. Besides, if I plan on moving to Canada or Europe in the future it could be useful.

I plan on using two main sources to help me learn. First off is going to be Duolingo. Duolingo is a free site where you can learn a few basic languages. There is a tree guide that you work your way down. I like Duolingo because its fun and painless. I also find it effective, with Duolingo you translate from English to French and from French to English. You practice writing and speaking. 

The other site I plan on using is called italki. With italki there are a few different options. You can have paid lessons with a real teacher that resides in that country and is certified to teach, you can have people that are from that country but do not have a teaching certificate teach you for cheaper or you can connect with a local and exchange languages. With the language exchange, they help you with whatever language you are learning (the language they are fluent in) and you help them with the language that you are fluent in (english in my case). I love this site and that all of the options involve you speaking with another human being. It is said that the only way to become fluent in a language is to speak it. 

These are my goals. I don't know if I'll succeed. I don't know if I'll quit once school starts and I become busy, but I really do hope to keep them up. What are your goals?




***I did not receive any compensation for either of these sites. I just discovered them and genuinely believe in them.