'It's my birthday!'
'It's my birthday!'
Here's a little something for you...
🎉 Welcome to the party!
Thank you for joining me in celebrating my 35th birthday! This little virtual birthday party is something I’ve been looking forward to all week. So go grab your favorite summer drink, get a sweet snack, and read the column below that I wrote with you in mind. If you want to feel the vibe I’m on right now, take a listen to my birthday playlist. ✨
So I don't usually do this—pop in your inbox more than twice a month—but since it is my birthday and all, I thought I’d interrupt my summer series (🔌 ‘Why don’t you linger awhile?’) and share a few of my (other) favorite things as a little gift to you.
Quick back story. In 2021 I quit social media (although I’m still very active on LinkedIn but that doesn’t count, right?) and started rediscovering what makes me smile—part of that included me trying a lot of new things. So today I want to share an update on some of those things that I tried that actually stuck and that I’ve come to really enjoy.
🏋🏽♀️ Ok so first I tried working out, like for real. If you knew me before, you knew that I was the kind of girl who would meet their friends at the gym and eat cookies while they worked out (shout out to
—this happened quite a few times, remember?). Even though I was so out of shape, so much so that everyday tasks became difficult, and I was burdened with the pandemic weight and baby weight, I didn’t choose this fitness life, it chose me! I only started working out because I got a job at Peloton. My days were filled with either talking about working out or listening to others talk about it—that was literally the job. Immersed in this environment, I decided to embrace it fully (drink the Kool-Aid?). So I went ahead and bought a Bike (thanks to my employee discount), and the rest is history.Do I still scoff at having to walk up the stairs? Sure. And after almost two years with the Bike, do I still dread using it? Absolutely! Working out is hard, and no matter what people say, it's not fun (unless, of course, you get to join a live class with instructors like Robyn Arzon and Alex Toussaint), but I really believe it truly saved my life, and I’m blessed to have the ability to move my body. There’s still so much I have to take on in this space (I want to get like super swole) and I’m excited about it.
👉🏽 If you’re a Peloton member, you can find me on the Leaderboard @HottMessDre!
👩🏽💻 Next, I tried writing. If you’re new here, for the past few months I’ve been writing bi-weekly columns on all things philanthropy and doing good. Feel free to check out a few of my favorites to get started:
Additionally, I’ve picked up my pen and started writing to friends. Remember having pen pals? I always loved that. In 4th grade, my teacher arranged for our class to be pen pals with another 4th-grade class all the way in Alaska, and that memory has always stuck with me. So a few months ago, I decided to start writing my good friend Sara who moved back home to St. Louis a few years ago. As a new mom, and as a millennial, it’s so hard to find time to chat on the phone, and frankly I just really don’t like it. I’ve found writing to be a really fun and creative way to stay connected with friends. And it’s so refreshing getting mail that isn’t a bill! Since I started, I’ve gained about four more pen pals. I even got custom stationery and have been writing back and forth with people all over the country.
🏈 I tried getting back into playing sports. Sure, I had an MVP year playing basketball in the 6th grade and did a brief stint on our summer church league in high school, but since then, I haven’t played any organized sport. That all changed this past spring when I joined an intramural flag football team. It started as a birthday gift for my husband, but he convinced me to join too, and I can’t thank him enough!
For those of you who’ve never played a team sport, I have to tell you, it really reveals your true character. I was incredibly nervous before my first game. I assumed there would be some kind of practice or something, but no, they just throw you in and start the play. My husband was in the zone, so I didn't have anyone to guide me—I had to learn everything on the field. As I became more accustomed to the game and gained some confidence, I started feeling frustrated because our quarterback never threw me the ball! According to my husband, I think I'm open more often than I actually am, but whatever. This led to self-doubt and negative thoughts. I remember leaving one game almost in tears because I didn't get the ball even once—but there's no crying in football!
I've heard it once said that the hardest thing to train is your mind, and it's so true. After that moment, I started gassing myself up on the field. I got more involved in plays and decided if I wasn’t going to get the ball on offense, I’m about to be defensive player of the year out there! When I tell you I was pulling all the flags—you couldn’t get anything past me! Soon enough I got more knowledgeable of the plays and routes and before long, I even scored my first touchdown, which was exhilarating! Now I can't wait to get back on the field and see what else I can do!
In addition to my IRL sports life, I also tried playing fantasy football. This was the biggest shock to me because I’ve always thought of fantasy sports as pointless. And just like working out and playing flag football, I was dragged into playing fantasy by my friends. (Can I just say as you can see there’s a recurring theme here—I’m often positively pressured to try new things—it’s so important to have good people around you who encourage you to take positive risks, just sayin’). Anyway, I’ve been playing fantasy football for three seasons now and have even been GM of two leagues! Every year I swear it’s going to be my year and although I have yet to win (because it’s rigged!), I bought myself this Goat ring to manifest a victory. HMU if you want to join my fantasy league, no previous experience is required 🙌🏼 Also FYI, the NFL season starts in just 75 days!
So what do I mean by 35 and full of it?
In this new year of life, I’m living fully committed—"locked in," as my niece would say—in every aspect of my life. I know that I am not only alive in this world, but that the world is alive in me and I will rest in that extra layer of clarity and significance as I go about my everyday. I want to live fully and magnanimously!
There’s a beautiful quote that I shared with you all last week by Thomas Aquinas—here’s what I want to add to it to encourage you to live fully & magnanimously:
Make every effort to add to your life goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. ❤️