For the last year or so, I’ve loathed my body. This incredible shell keeps me moving and alive and able to read books, yet I hated it. None of my clothes were fitting anymore. I felt like garbage all the time. I made constant excuses for why I couldn’t join classes or follow exercise videos on my own. My back! Those metal rods aligning my spine! I simply can’t do these movements! Bullshit. I just didn’t want to do it. Duh.

On a whim, after hearing my pal Katie talk about how much she loves it, I went to a kickboxing class. Because why not go from 0 to eXtReMe WoRkOuT? I’ve gone to four classes and I am SO into it. I am very terrible at it and have no idea what I’m doing most the time, but that doesn’t matter right now. It just matters that I’m doing it.