Goals and Gateways

I haven't made an entry in a while. Life has been kind of a whirlwind, what with the holidays and work amping up a little bit. Then again, there have been relatively few big happenings in the Life of Nate lately. That's pretty much fine with me. Finishing up Christmas and New Years was a mixed blessing. Although it was great getting a break from the ordinary and getting to see more of my family and friends, I'm definitely glad to be back into the daily grind.

I decided a few years ago that I don't believe in New Year's Resolutions because they, for the most part, fail. So instead, I've decided to just make a couple goals or themes for myself to follow. This year, I want to pay off my credit card and apply for a new one with a higher credit limit. I've learned some valuable lessons with my first credit card and still have pretty good credit, so it's time to move on to something more adult.

My other big goal is weight gain. I know for years I've struggled with this image of myself being fat, chubby, overweight, or just "oddly proportioned." The problem has been that I've been going about this whole fitness thing entirely wrong. I was afraid of putting on muscle because it was a daunting task that I didn't understand. I also didn't want to look like a meathead... you know, because I'm such an intellectual and all. But if I'm ever going to reach a point where I'll be totally comfortable with my body, I'll have to take a different road. So I've been dedicated 3 days a week to lifting weights. I have a structured program that I've been working on for the past 8 weeks and already I've seen some pretty encouraging increases in my physical strength. I can also eat a lot more! I feel like I have learned SO much about fitness and nutrition in the past couple of months. So the goal for the year is to put on lots and lots of muscle, then go through a period of "cutting" starting around October or November. As I think about it though, that may be a bad time to start, with holidays and all. So it may be January of next year before I start the "cutting" phase.

Either way, this year is about building and growing.

Oh, and I'm applying for grad school this fall to start in fall 2011.