finding my peace

By: Jordi Avila

Ever since high school started to get more serious and the homework started piling up, I never really had time to stop and just be in a state of calmness. Everyday felt like a race trying to finish assignments before its due date. I'd do one assignment but next day another one would be assigned, leaving feeling really overwhelmed 

All that stress was really messing up my mind with new work being assigned everyday to the point where I would sleep everyday after school and not do a single ounce of work, causing me to not receive good grades for freshman year. 

Towards the end of freshman year on a random day of may my sister asked me and my brother if we wanted to go to the gym with her. My brother and I said “yeah” because i really had nothing better to do besides be on my phone and doomscroll the entire day.

But what I didn't know was that the gym was going to change a lot of the way I think. It gave me something positive to focus on when I was stressed and really got my mind off of things. It was a place where my brain can shut off and the only time of the day where I have no stress or responsibilities. 

Working out has helped me build better habits and it showed me that I didn't have to stay stuck in the same cycle every single day. It made me be productive after school and actually doing my homework on time; managing my time better and staying organized with all my homework. 

But it didn't just help me mentally it also helped me physically; it was the first place where my effort was shown. Each month seeing my appearance change, getting healthier and seeing my work pay off.

Even though the gym helped me  build discipline and a stronger mindset, I know I still have a lot to improve on. Sometimes I still slip back into my old habits and there are days when I don't feel like doing anything at all; sleeping all day and not doing my homework until its due date or not even at all.

But now I know the process to become my best version of myself isn't going to be perfect. But that’s where you're going to have to be patient and just fall in love with the process. Now being a junior in high school, I am trying to not repeat the same mistakes as I did in freshman year.