5/1/2026
It’s Friday! This week was so much less stressful for me and I hope that it was a great week for you as well. The pool team clinched first place this session, shout out David, Jesse, Pete, Maria, Bink, Ian, and Nicky for being the best damn team ever. I love those guys and it is going to be very bittersweet having to leave this group of people that has truly become family. The kids at the Fitness Center are in the heart of finals but I am super excited to see what all of the graduating seniors get up to as they continue to grow (hopefully with fitness still in their lives lol). And this weekend I get to pick up 15 rolls of 35mm negatives, go to the Matisse exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago, and I get to hangout with some of the coolest people ever (you know who you are).
This week I wanted to take a little break from lecture notes and photography thoughts, and talk a little more broadly about how I am dealing with and getting ready for this upcoming move to New Orleans. I also have to mention how blessed I am to have such an amazing partner to do this with. Ellen and I pride ourselves on working together, and the intense communication of feelings, nerves, fears, and hopes for the future is the only reason this opportunity is coming to fruition. We have very honest conversations weekly about expectations for the move and how we are feeling generally, and those conversations have given me more insight into how I am as a person as well as how I can best help Ellen/our relationship flourish!
Although that communication is an amazing way to make sure we stay connected as a couple, I have also been making a lot of preemptive changes in my routine to get ready for this big change. Firstly, fitness is a huge part of my life. I not only work in the fitness industry as a personal trainer, but I also have a deep personal love for bettering myself physically and mentally through the doing of hard things. With my working situation changing with the move I have switched back to a full body kettlebell/calisthenics program for myself, prioritizing resistance training supersets and high intensity cardio to maximize my efficiency during my workout. Supersets = completing two exercises back-to-back with little to no rest, usually using separate muscle groups which allows me to challenge my metabolic system more than straight sets with longer rests, as well as get 2x the amount of work in the same amount of time. I also am still super huge into mobility and trying to create a resilient body for later in life, so daily stretching as well as a mandatory warmup will of course be continuing through the move. Making this preemptive change in response to a big move is going to help my anxiety so much by creating another stable aspect of my life throughout a period of uncertainty. I really thrive with a schedule so making as many parts of my life predictable is one of the best ways to cull anxiety and keep me on track mentally!
This was much more of a diary entry than a blog post but I really wanted to get into some personal thoughts and not just have such stuffy or pretentious posts all the time lol. Get your steps in, drink your water, protect your friends, protect your family, protect your neighbors, and I love y’all!
