My name is Sadie Cohen, and I am a freshman at Longwood University and also play field hockey there. I am curious to learn more about digital writing. I want to learn more about it and look at it differently than I do now. I enjoy studying about teaching not only myself but the next generation. I love to learn all the knowledge I can so I can use it to teach myself and others around me. My major here at Longwood is Criminal Justice and my minor is Psychology. I am aspiring to be a Criminal Psychologist. I aspire to work in the FBI or one of those fields and use my degree to better those around me. My mother is a Psychotherapist so I know some about the field of psychology and cannot wait to learn more. My mom also used her degrees to work in law enforcement for 14 years so I hope to make her proud by working in a similar field as her. By being around someone my whole life who has worked with some of the people I hope to work with someday, it helps me see first hand at what my career is going to look like. I see this class helping me with my writing and understand technology better, because I know I will be using both of those a lot in my future career. 

A big part of everyones New year resolutions every year is to stay healthy whether that be to diet or workout. In reality you can’t have a good diet without working out and you can’t “look healthy” without a good diet. Diets these days can be ridiculous with calorie count and telling you what you can eat and cannot. Really a good diet is what makes you not only look good but feel good. Everyone know that you have to take in a good about of fruits, veggies, protein, grains and dairy daily to fuel your body but that is also different for everyone because no two people are the same. I recommend going to your doctor and asking them what they recommend for a diet, supplements, and etc to keep your body healthy. On the workout side, there are tons of workouts online and I mean tons. As an athlete it is very important to stay psychically fit and healthy but also eat the best foods to keep you fueled all throughout the day. A lot of people think that loosing weight is just loosing fat but there is a difference in loosing fat and loosing weight. LifeHacker says “Your body contains different tissues. Fat is one; muscle is another.” and that is completely true. You need stay active and workout to build muscle which helps loose weight and also give the visual of looking more fit. You also need to eat the food and drinks to keep your body healthy, I think that LifeHacker said it very well when they said “When you don’t eat enough food, your body uses its own tissues to fuel you.” Meaning that if you don’t eat enough food your body will fight against you and make you weak. Personally I believe that you need to eat 3 meals a day along with healthy snacks, which can include protein shakes or bars. While watching calories is a big part of loosing weight it also doesn’t mean that you need to cut calories and or keep count of the, in many cases doing so can lead to eating disorders. A really good way to start and remain eating healthy is to make a meal plan. Basically you make a bulk of a few meals that have all the necessities that you need to intake like vegetables, fruits, proteins, grains, and of course daily. This way you have meals planned out and they are so much easier and healthy. Another large part of eating healthy is to avoid sugary drinks and instead stick to water along with eating smaller meals more often. When eating smaller meals more often this makes sure that you don’t over eat and also give your body time to digest.

There are a lot of ways to boost exercise motivation but a few that I really try to stick to are the following. Number 1 would be to lighten up your goals, this is very important because you don’t want to start with hard goals, you want to grow your goals after you’ve reached one and make the next harder this way you don’t burn yourself out fast. Number 2 would be to track your progress, this way you can check your improvements whether that be running faster, doing more reps, or just working out more often and by seeing the improvement it will make you want to keep going. Number 3 would be to only focus on yourself and not others, this is not in a selfish way, but everyone knows it is very easy to compare yourself to others but really try not to. It is very hard not to compare your working out really try not to look at the people around you because there will always be someone that is fitter, faster, and more flexible than you so by comparing yourself to them does you no justice. Focusing on you is the only way to make you feel better. Number 4 is to find fun in working out, by having more fun it will make you more motivated. Everyone loves to do things that you enjoy, so always keep it fun and change things up here and there. Number 5 would be to reward yourself. Give yourself a cheat meal, give yourself a day off here and there, give yourself time to rest but even actively rest, buy yourself those new gym clothes, literally anything that will bring you joy. A big part to want to keep staying healthy and active is to have fun. By having fun you will want to stay doing what your doing, so keep working out, keep eating good and keep pushing yourself to be a better version.

Skwarecki, Beth. “How to Lose Weight without Buying into Diet Culture.” Lifehacker, 5 Jan. 2022, https://lifehacker.com/how-to-lose-weight-without-buying-into-any-more-diet-bu-1847818364. g

As someone who works out everyday and plays field hockey for a living, what I am wearing plays a huge roll in my performance. Working out has really impacted the world since COVID hit because people wanted to find something to do while quarantined. Because of the spike in working out, workout clothes because a necessity for even to get, either to workout in or do everyday tasks. Being an athlete, I have always tended to buy workout clothes but more recently have I started really getting into buying them and finding which ones make me feel most beautiful but also comfortable. Personally, I have always been a huge Lululemon fan and always will be, my family is also big fans and we all wear it probably daily. Although the brand has amazingly well made clothing and many different styles and what not, the brand overall is pricey and out of budget for some people. Yes, the product is worth the money, but it definitely can round up depending on how many items you get.

While searching for new workout and athleisure clothing that is a reasonable price and good quality, not at the price as brands like Lululemon but has the same quality and is not tacky, I ran into Gymshark. A company I was familiar with hearing about, but had never bought from, so I thought why not give it a try and I bought a matching top and short set. From a teen perspective I see a ton of girls my age wear matching workout sets all over social media like instagram and TikTok, but I never really wanted to spend the hundreds of dollars on a matching set from Lululemon. While looking at Instagram one day a really cute ad came up of a super chic workout set and it was from Gymshark. As any person would do, I immediately clicked on the ad and it took me to end up scrolling though the website looking at everything. The pricing was great, in the $30s for somethings and even cheaper, I found a pair of leggings I really liked a long with of course a matching long sleeve and biker short set. The shipping didn’t take long at all and the process was very easy. The order finally shipped to my house and I instantly tried everything on and it all not only fit amazing, like the size chart said, but the quality was also amazing.

For someone who has a very athletic body shape for a girl, I have always been insecure about what I wear especially to the gym. I had never work a tight set like this to the gym, only at my home gym, but once I tried the set on I felt amazing. The different styles, patterns, colors, everything that they have they make sure that matter the body type it will flatter your body. Thats exactly what I did, I also ended up turning my friend both girls and boys onto the company and they all enjoy wearing the clothes. Workout clothes being intended for working out it is very important that they are good quality and thats early what these are they just aren’t at an outrageous price.

All of my life I have had the greatest experiences to travel all around the world. I am very blessed to have a well off family who loves to experience new places and make many memories. With that being said, I’ve had many great traveling experiences. One travel experience that has really stuck with me is traveling to the galapagos islands and Ecuador.

My mother, grandmother, and I went on this trip when I was in the sixth grade, we started off the trip exploring Ecuador and particularly Quito. My journey began in Quito, Ecuador’s capital. Mountains and snow-capped volcanoes surround the city. It’s also at a high altitude, at 2850 meters, so take it slowly and drink plenty of water when you arrive there. I was taken on a guided walking tour of Quito. The city itself is enormous, with plenty to see and enjoy, including ancient cobblestone streets, colonial churches, bustling plazas, and regal government buildings. The tour concluded with a hike up to El Panecillo, Quito’s Virgin Statue, which offers spectacular views of the city and is a fantastic photo opportunity. The colorful markets of Otavalo and the Mindo Cloud Forest, which is home to butterflies, orchids, and birds, provide a deeper look into life in Ecuador. We then continued our trip on a ship traveling all around the Galapagos islands and learning the history that really makes the island what it is. The Galapagos Islands, however, aren’t only about your boat and the food! The main highlights are the unique nature and fauna, as well as the great activities that allow you to engage with it. Every day, we went to a different island, each one unique. We went to the Charles Darwin Research Station to learn more about the islands’ protection and environment. As blue footed boobies sailed above, I paddled along the clean coastlines. Took a gentle climb to the Sierra Negra volcano, which was surrounded by lava rocks. Beaches featuring nesting sea turtles, giant tortoises, crabs, penguins, and other wildlife were visited. Snorkeling with playful sea lions was a magical experience as they attempted to engage in play with you. Sharks, marine iguanas, and colorful fish were all seen from the boat. Visitors do not bother the wildlife, and it is one of the few areas where little has changed since Darwin’s visit 200 years ago. Going on this trip with just anyone would be a fun and awesome experience, but the fact that I got to go on this magical and eye opening trip with the most influential women in my life made it even better.  This trip is a trip that I want my children to experience and I wou;d be more than blessed to take them there with my mother one day and give them the experience that I had. The memories of hiking around, snorkeling, trying new food, seeing animals that you wouldn’t see anywhere in the U.S., making friends among the ship, and so many more memories I get to share with my two favorite women.