One to two times a week for the last 4 months I’ve been asked a question.
It’s 6:27 AM. I’m outside, and it’s extremely cold. I’m not in bed. I’m about to participate in my least-favorite pastime: running. I’ve hugged a few people, and I’m low-key not much of a hugger :).
The question, “Do you feel good?”
My optimistic response: maybe.
I’m frugal. I would love a gym membership, but I don’t let it be part of the budget. My yoga mat circuits of burpies, pull-ups, single leg deadlifts, and little throwing of the kettlebell in the cramped one-bedroom apartment were getting very old. I needed something else.
My years after college have been a bit lonely and challenging for me. Not in a depressed, miserable way, but in a, “I’m missing something” kind of way. No longer living with my best friends. No longer surrounded by people similar to me working towards the same thing. I rent in a neighborhood full of apartments, making a challenge of meeting neighbors. I choose truancy in regards to church, a place where community is often found. I don’t go to bars too often (when I do go, it’s with someone I know and not to meet people). I feel very vulnerable talking about this, but I’m assuming this is all too common and needs to be talked about more in a world with ever increasing mental health concerns. We’re social animals seeking connection and too often that need is unmet and often exacerbated in the toxic, polarized social climate that is 2018.
So when I read about a group of people that gets together to run hills/stairs and some other workouts outside for free, it sounded great. November Project has exceeded my expectations. It’s become one of my favorite parts of the week. Do I have a new best friend? No, not yet at least. Was I looking for one? No, not really. Do I know more than half the people’s names yet? Probably not.
Am I faster? Yes. Am I stronger? Yes. I have found a community who SHOWS UP and who pushes/encourages each other, not only in workouts, but also in day-to- day life. November Project has helped meet my social and physical needs.
Getting to the top of stairs during a workout. I look down, and my unemotional self gets the goose bumps. Not from cold weather, but from the high fives, the shrieking, the laughter, and humans communing with others and moving in their natural environment with the sun coming up. It’s the magic hour.
The tribe’s answer, “Fuck yeah.” WE feel good.
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