Seeing Green

I have always found that I am my most confident, and powerful self when I am running. It feels like when I go out for a run, I am conquering some kind of small battle; I get that rush of dopamine every time I set a small goal for how far I want to run or how fast, and complete that goal. It is one of the smallest, most simple pleasures in my life, that is simultaneously such a big part of my identity.  The thing I love most about running is that I feel entirely in control when I do it. I have always been obsessed with control, sometimes to a fault (thank you, anxiety!). With running, though, the feeling of control is not forced. The control comes from a complete understanding and synchronicity between my body and my mind. I feel completely present and in tune with what I am feeling while I am pushing myself to move forward. There is not better feeling than finally finding a rhythm of body movement and breath while chugging along a road or trail, feeling like you are on top of the w...

“Saudade. Ah, yes, the national word of Portugal. They say saudade is unique to Portuguese, impossible to define in English. Nostalgia gets pretty close, but saudade is more complicated. It’s the remnant of gratitude and bliss that something happened, but the simultaneous devastation that it has gone and will never happen again. It marries the feelings of happy wistfulness and poignant melancholy, anticipation, and hopelessness. It’s universally understood by a cross-ocean culture with a constant feeling of absence, a yearning for the return of something now gone.” - Mari Andrew I had never felt connected to the song “Wagon Wheel” until the final few hours of the last outing club trip I will ever lead. Spring LT had ended, and we were on our way back home to UNH on a chilly Sunday morning. As always, it had been a weekend of learning, laughing, eating, and team building in Franky Cabin for old and new leaders, alike. I felt fulfilled, yet somehow also very sad.  There was a part of...

     Hello, and welcome! My name is Adrienne and I am finally going to start the blog I have been meaning to create since 2018. While in quarantine (and as a VERY new college grad), I have been feeling antsy and like my writing voice is not getting the exercise that it needs. Maybe it's because I don't have any assignments or articles to complete, or maybe it's because I have a lot more time to write as a leisure activity... but no matter the cause, I am finally feeling ready to BLOG.       Starting something like this has seemed so daunting every time I've thought about doing it. The time commitment, the vulnerability, the forced break from frying my brain scrolling through Instagram (I am an addict), and the list goes on. BUT! Here we are, finally.      What will I be blogging about? That's an excellent question, and a quandary I have not entirely figured out. It's safe to say that this blog will be broadly about life in general and so...