Exercising when you don't want to and not eating all of the Girl Scout Cookies

Since going to college I have lost some weight, but not because I have made any major changes to my diet or lifestyle. There was really only one major thing that caused the weight loss.

I had to walk everywhere. 

My high school is one building, with two floors and maybe a dozen hallways. It is no colossal labyrinth like some people's seem to be.  We had to take PE for one year and that was it, and I was never quite good enough or motivated enough to join an actual sports team.

But college, that is an entirely different monster.  I'm pretty sure IU's campus is larger than my entire town, with a population nearly quadruple the size.  Between just getting to my classes and elbowing through massive throngs of people, I got a full-body workout without having to go to the gym.

I would also say the lack of a good, home-cooked meal also led to a slimmer figure, but my dorm had a convenience store that never ran out of ice cream or cheese cake.  I will say this, though: Nine times out of ten, when I went on a grocery run, I bought hummus instead of cheesecake. I love hummus; one of the first things I checked when I got home was to see whether or not we had any hummus (we have two tubs full-the mother lode).

But now that I AM home, there IS food everywhere-free food, too, and I don't have to walk anywhere to get it.  For the first couple of days back I was basically sedentary, except when I was making myself food.

When I finally came out of my food haze, though, I realized what I was doing, and decided I had to stop. That particular plan has not gone so well, but in light of that I decided I have to start working out.  So far I've ran for three days in a row, which is a pretty good start, I think.  Also, I use the word run loosely. Really, I walk kind of fast, but I count it.


And I made a playlist (not like a brilliant one, but I like it). It's really random but it helps keep me on track. The centerpiece of the whole thing, the crux, is I'll Make a Man out of You from Mulan. When it comes on I run as fast as I can for the whole song (which is only like three minutes long, but cut me some slack. I'm lazy) and hope for the best.


Not the best method, sure, but it's better than anything else I can come up with.

My Walking Around Campus Playlist or, I Swear I Am A Normal Teenager.

Start with Edvard Grieg's In the Hall of the Mountain King:

Begins quietly, then rushes, rushes to its conclusion.

Then follow with Richard Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries:

It's exciting from the outset, a good follow-up to the Grieg.

Then some Brahms, with Hungarian Dance No. 5:

A little more stately, a little calmer, but still so awesome.

And then straight to Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2:

Slower, more dangerous, very emotional, and then almost campy.


Followed by Chopin's Grand Valse Brillante!:

Just to calm it down a little (and he's, like, my favorite person ever.)


AND THEN MORE CHOPIN! Prelude in D Flat Major:

Totally NOT because Chopin is awesome and I'm playing this song right now on the piano but because it's a lovely song. There is NO ulterior motive here.


And finally, we have Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture (finale):

In which cannons are used as musical instruments, officially making classical music cooler than anything else on the radio.


And that is my Walking Around Campus Playlist. I hope you all enjoy.