Hello World (wide web)!  I’ve heard all about you and look forward to exploring and expanding my horizons.  You might ask yourself, what are you talking about?  Well, you wouldn’t just start talking to someone you just met without a proper greeting right?  Well, this is my salutation to you world.  Now that that’s done, I wanted to thank you for visiting my blog.

After much contemplation, I’ve decided to start this blog for 2 reasons:

1.) to use it as a canvas for all my thoughts, feelings, opinions on an array of different subjects (mostly health related) that mean a lot to me.

2.) to hopefully motivate, inspire, encourage and push you to be the best version of yourself whether it’s financially, spiritually, emotionally or physically.  If one of my posts helps you through a rough patch of your life, helps you get off the couch or simply makes you laugh, think, smile or cry my mission is complete.

As a quick intro, here are 10 things you may or may not know about me.

1. I was a spoiled brat as a child and still struggle with internal tantrums as an adult

Being the youngest in the family (the “baby” as my family would say), my parents and siblings (older bro and sis) almost always caved into my demands with a little coaxing and/or crying. I’ll be the first to admit that I got away with a lot of things and got almost everything I wanted including a brand new car in high school (that I still drive).

2. I have 2 birthmarks

One on my upper left back thigh and the other in a spot you really don’t want to know. Funny story: my mom told me when I was a kid, one of my friend’s moms tried to wash away the birthmark on my leg because she thought it was poop.  Sorry if that was TMI.

3. My favorite subjects growing up were Math and Science

I was a pretty studious student growing up, always doing my homework and trying to be the “teacher’s pet.”  I really enjoyed math and science class because it came easy to me and I was typically towards the top of my class.  My worst and least favorite subject was English, as I hated to read and still don’t enjoy it to this day, although I’m working on it.  I really wish I had actually read during those 15 mins of SSR (silent sustained reading), btw do they still have that in school?

4. I really like “Chick Flicks/Teenybopper” movies

Everyone has a top 5 movie list right?  Well, don’t judge but 2 of my 5 are “A Walk to Remember” and “Bring it On.”  Remember Mandy Moore? Of course, you do! Well, she was and still is one of my favorites.  If you’ve seen the movie, my favorite scene is when they stop on the road and Landon (Shane West) asks Jamie Sullivan (Mandy Moore) to put one foot here and the other there.  He made one of her wishes come true as she was straddling the state line and was in 2 places at once.  If you were interested, here’s the scene best scene EVER! One of my dreams is to reenact something similar to my future gf/wife.

5. I have the musical taste of a teenage girl

And proud of it!  What’s the saying?  Don’t judge a book by its cover?  Well, don’t judge a man by his musical taste either.  I’ve been to 4 Taylor Swift concerts so far, 2 this year, 2 in fact in a span of 4 days.  They don’t call it pop(ular) music for nothing.  That doesn’t mean I only listen to teenybopper music but it’s definitely towards the top of my list.

6. I’m not a morning person but I wake up before 6 am most days of the week

Like a lot of people, I wake up in the morning and want to hit the snooze for another 30 minutes or more.  After the initial reluctance to open my eyes, I make a (quick) breakfast then get ready for my morning workout.  I can’t remember a time when I’ve regretted getting up early to exercise.

7. I have a fear of failure/rejection and am scared I won’t “make it”

I’m not sure why or how I started thinking about it but I’ve had a fear that I won’t make it in life and end up on the streets.  Yeah, I know it’s crazy to think that way but that’s why I’m scared of rejection because I feel like it will snowball into something worse.  I’m working on it by taking chances and saying yes to things that I never thought I’d do, like starting this blog.

8. I care way too much about what people think

Although some people say they don’t care what others think of them, I think it’s only human nature to want to be liked and accepted.  I’ve always wanted to be liked and I feel like it’s held me back from certain opportunities in my life.

9. I’m more sensitive than society says I’m “supposed to be”

This goes back to my taste in movies and music.  I feel like I’m more in touch with my feelings and emotions than your average guy.  I feel like this is both a blessing and a curse.  Call it what you want but that’s what makes me me.

10. I’m a very private person and tend to suppress a lot of my thoughts and feelings.

This goes back to #8 about caring too much about what people think of me.  I’ve held a lot of things in because my views/way of thinking don’t always align with the majority/crowd.  I want to start this blog to get out of my comfort zone and share my thoughts/feelings with you!  I hope you enjoy it and helps you in any way.

In addition to my salutations to the world, I wanted to share 3 things I’ve been trying to practice in my life.  They are balance, gratitude, and mindfulness.

Balance: In the hectic, always on the go world we live in, it’s easy to lose balance and ignore some parts of your life whether it’s your relationships, health, diet or even your own happiness.  Taking the time to take care of yourself and finding that balance is vital not only for yourself but those around you.

Gratitude: Simply put being thankful for everything you have in your life right at this moment.  I think a lot of us get caught up in chasing things whether it’s that new car, promotion at work or new love interest.  I’m practicing being grateful for all the ups and downs that life throws at you.  I found this really short, insightful video on gratitude. If you have time, you should check it out.  What level are you?  I would say I’m in the middle at level 3, working my way to level 4.

Mindfulness: There’s been a lot of publicity on this recently as a new way of living.  At its core, it’s about recognizing your thoughts/feeling at the moment and just letting it be, without judgment.  Focusing on the task at hand, not letting the past or future ruin the one thing we all have right now, the present.  One of my favorite books on mindfulness is The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle.  It’s a great read that I’ve read numerous times and keep handy whenever I’m going through a rough patch.

To close, I wanted to share one thing that I used to do as my short stint as a high school math teacher in NYC.  I would have a Quote of the Day on the board with the hopes of inspiring my students.  You’ll see soon enough but I’m big on quotes and clichés.  Every post will have a quote of the post (QOTP) at the end. Here’s the first one…

QOTP: “It’s all going to be okay. None of us know how our lives are going to turn out. And I think it’s better that way.” –Taylor Swift

Don’t worry, not all quotes are going to be from my future wife, Taylor Swift…or are they??

Oh yeah, one last thing…if you made it this far and liked what you read, please go ahead and sign up for notifications at the bottom right side of the page where it says “follow.” I promise I won’t spam you but am planning to post 2x a week (Sunday/Monday and Wednesday/Thursday). You’ll just receive an email when a new post is published.