On April 28, 2014 I arrived at my first apartment in the suburbs of Philadelphia around dinner time, but there was no time for eating dinner as I quickly got in and unpacked my car.

I have been trying to think of what to write today as I reflect on the last 2 years. This Tuesday April 26, I briefly looked at my Timehop and read my Instagram post from last year about how I was preparing for my yoga final exam and the previous year I was setting out to drive to Philadelphia. What a significant day that is for my life in the last 2 years. 

Instagram post by me on April 26, 2015

“One year ago today I packed up my car and headed out for my drive towards Philadelphia, no job, just hopes of finding one and learning more about myself. On May 2, 2014 I went to a yoga studio that I had never been to before hoping to be accepted to their teacher training program. Today I have my yoga teacher training final. It has been an incredible journey. Not only have I grown from setting out on an adventure on my own in a completely new place, but also the last 6 months I have dived deeper into myself through yoga teacher training. There is still so much more to learn but I am incredibly thankful for this experience. Today is an emotional day as we take our final but hopefully we all graduate and see each other one last time all together on Friday May 1. Almost exactly 1 year after I met two of my fellow yogi trainees in our meeting. I couldn’t have gotten this far without them and also without the wonderful yoga community here on Instagram. Spending a moment by the river this morning feeling the warm sun and reflecting. Thank you to everyone who supports me and wish me good luck today.”

Maybe this is why I have had cravings this week, experiencing emotion. I am not even in my PMS week and I actually am lucky I don’t experience too many whirlwind of emotions during that time but this week, Monday I really craved carbs. I kept guzzling water thinking maybe I was thirsty but then it just wasn’t working. I decided to have a bowl of Arctic Zero ice cream (which you must try if you haven’t, OMG so good) maybe that would help. It was delicious but I was still antsy and craving carbs. I know I am going low carb right now but I caved Monday, probably my highest about of grams of carbs in a day in two weeks. I had a few handfuls of granola and then finally I made some peppermint tea to wind down the night and that seemed to help.
Tuesday was primary voting day in PA and I drove to the polls at 6:45. I had google mapped the location to know exactly where I was going which was pretty much around the corner just to a building I hadn’t noticed before. It happened to be next to dunkin donuts and all I was thinking about was an unsweetened iced tea. After finally getting into the building to vote at 7am (turned out a few of us where waiting at the wrong entrance but a gentleman let us in and walk through to the correct location). Voting was quick and I headed home and walked to the train. Once I got to the city I stopped for that iced tea finally. I couldn’t get it off my mind. I will tell you I fully enjoyed every sip too. That’s the benefit to treats from time to time is that you enjoy them more.

Anyway 2 years…I really can’t believe it has been that long already. Starting from nothing, no job, not even any furniture and now in less than 2 months I will have been at my company for 2 years. A lot has changed there as the company is growing and I have certainly had my fair share of being involved in many departments. It wasn’t long after I started working that I dove into yoga teacher training (which I actually researched before moving, gyms and yoga studios were top priority). To have graduated yoga training a year ago feels so unreal. After a bit of a break from yoga I found my way back and started teaching in January. While I know my teaching has a long way to go I am finally less nervous and enjoying it more.

During the last year, I also found my way back into weight training beginning in April last year with aid from Susie. However it wasn’t until May/June time that I finally established a better routine going to workout at 5am some days each week. It’s a time that no one can mess up except me if I don’t get out of bed or if my tires on my car have issues, but that is another story. The workout may be short but I have become stronger over time (HELLO! I can finally do a pull up without assistance!!). It starts my day off right. I feel better getting a workout done early and relaxing/blogging in the evening. I’ve been working on myself a lot this past year and figuring out what truly makes me happy while also trying my best to live in the present and really have a positive mind. Be more thankful for what I do have and continue to work towards my life goals.

I do not feel there is ever really an end to this kind of work on myself. It is continuous as not everyday is a good day but I feel a little bit closer to those life goals I have. 

I still believe this move I took 2 years ago was one of the best decisions of my life even if everything hasn’t gone perfectly. I’ve grown to be even more independent. I have had more time to reflect on myself, my needs and my goals.

It also helped my relationship with Brian because as I worked on myself, I realized how negative I was and now I am constantly striving to be more positive, to have an open mind and believe that things will work out. I know Brian has seen that and it’s part of the reason he finally proposed, seeing a life with me, a positive me. It requires hard work, but in these two years I know I have improved both physically and mentally. I hope to continue down this path of improvement with myself and surrounding myself with positive people (even if that refers to many positive bloggers <– seriously you guys get me through my days sometimes). 

I’m so glad I started this little space on the internet to recap as I went through yoga training and also just all the changes in my life. There are still so many more changes I know will come and that’s why this space is called “Bridges through Life” because if you don’t change, life would be boring. You need to cross a bridge multiple times in life and this blog follows my journey through it. One of my favorite quotes I remember from my college orientation is “Life is a journey, not a guided tour.”