I'm influenced fairly easily. I absorb people's mood (I'll spin that and say I'm empathetic) and I may adopt catch phrases from other people. Oddly enough, "que chulo" didn't come from me, but from one of my best friends, Belia. I know people who are worst; one of my other best friends has picked up accents from places she has visited and a few select places she has never been to (hearts Amanda, you quirky little dear).
With that in mind, I've been re-evaluating whether or not my mental goals are my own. Have I fallen into that peer pressure crowd? The all-the-cool-kids-are-doing-this mentality? I know a few people who are runners and I'm wondering if I've fallen into a trap. Do I just want to be cool like them? Do I really want to be a runner?
The short answer to the last two questions are yes and yes.
In this case, peer pressure is a good thing. I do want to be cool like my runner friends. I want to know the accomplishment they've known by completing a 5K, a 10K, and a half marathon. I'd like to have that endurance and strength and the pretty medals. Some of my running friends have also traveled to some cool locations to compete in races.
Being a runner has advantages I'd like to have. I want to be able to run, to not get winded so quickly. Stereotypical fat kid that I was (am?), I was chosen last for every sports team imaginable in elementary. As an adult, I remember distinctly making up an excuse to avoid being on a kickball team for work. Part of it was my lack of foot-eye coordination since I often kick at air instead of the ball, but a bigger part was I was scared that I wouldn't be able to run the bases. I also have a slightly more obscure reason for wanting to run. Perhaps(ok, so it totally is), this is due to my love of crime fiction ( books, TV, etc), but I'd also like to be able to run from danger or to help thwart it.
I have my reasons for wanting to run, some based on envy, some on righting past hardships, some more health minded, and some that are to handle a less than likely scenario. Even though envy does not seem like an exactly pure motive, it is mine. I can spin it again and say that my running friends are my mentors. In a way they are, in another way I really want to steal their medals and run away, but I'll need to get a lot faster before that'll work out for me.
With that in mind, I've been re-evaluating whether or not my mental goals are my own. Have I fallen into that peer pressure crowd? The all-the-cool-kids-are-doing-this mentality? I know a few people who are runners and I'm wondering if I've fallen into a trap. Do I just want to be cool like them? Do I really want to be a runner?
The short answer to the last two questions are yes and yes.
In this case, peer pressure is a good thing. I do want to be cool like my runner friends. I want to know the accomplishment they've known by completing a 5K, a 10K, and a half marathon. I'd like to have that endurance and strength and the pretty medals. Some of my running friends have also traveled to some cool locations to compete in races.
Being a runner has advantages I'd like to have. I want to be able to run, to not get winded so quickly. Stereotypical fat kid that I was (am?), I was chosen last for every sports team imaginable in elementary. As an adult, I remember distinctly making up an excuse to avoid being on a kickball team for work. Part of it was my lack of foot-eye coordination since I often kick at air instead of the ball, but a bigger part was I was scared that I wouldn't be able to run the bases. I also have a slightly more obscure reason for wanting to run. Perhaps(ok, so it totally is), this is due to my love of crime fiction ( books, TV, etc), but I'd also like to be able to run from danger or to help thwart it.
I have my reasons for wanting to run, some based on envy, some on righting past hardships, some more health minded, and some that are to handle a less than likely scenario. Even though envy does not seem like an exactly pure motive, it is mine. I can spin it again and say that my running friends are my mentors. In a way they are, in another way I really want to steal their medals and run away, but I'll need to get a lot faster before that'll work out for me.
