Where Have I Been? Life Updates and More

By: Olivia Knott

Okay so I won’t lie, summer has been not only quite busy but also quite chaotic. I’ve been working semi-long hours, hardly writing, doing crosswords, watching things I regret watching, and laughing to some old, corny sitcoms here and there. Nonetheless, none of that provides any excuse for why I have not stumbled my tiny, nimble fingers upon my keyboard. So, I’ll tell you a bit of what’s up and some things that I’m planning to do, God willing.

Well, for one, I’ve been journaling more this summer. The bright side of the long, hot, 100 degree days is that I don’t have to be in Dr. Stone’s class anymore or trying to stay awake in my dreary math class. I have more time to write, more time to journal, and more time to pray and read my Bible. I will be honest, journaling is one of the best things ever. I feel like it helps to really process my thoughts and what I feel, as well as keep my hands practicing the wonderful art form called writing. I journal about pretty much anything as long as I have the time too; sometimes the pages are largely blank with just a single one-liner, but most of the time at least 5 pages are full of my streaming thoughts and praises to God.

As well as I’ve been journaling, I’ve been praying and reading the Bible more often. There was a week or two where I felt as though I was in such a daze (perhaps because of my insufficient amount of slumber) and I hardly prayed and I just read 6 or 7-versed Psalms to spend a least some time with God that day. But, now that I have been practicing going to bed at a reasonable hour, I feel as though getting up and praying, reading the Bible, and writing has become so much easier. God is so good for giving human beings rest, sleep is the best! (Also, I can finally remember my dreams now! Last night I dreamed about writing.)

Speaking of writing though, I have been writing more and more everyday for the past week. I’ve been on what people may call a “writer’s high.” I feel very thankful that I have been blessed with the calling of writing, to know that my purpose is to create a story for the mind or a thought to be mediated upon in the soul is so heartwarming and peaceful to me. I love writing all the time, it is my greatest passion, and I always feel as though when I write, I am at my most joyful state because I’m doing what God has called me to do. Some of you may know but I am writing a book titled “The Regression” right now, it’s been pretty stagnant but I’ve been adding a little more here and there; it’s coming around. I’ve been working on that more lately, establishing the plot more and working on a better description of the characters whilst simultaneously trying to embed my themes in wherever I go.

I write little stuff here and there on God’s glorious day of rest so that I can keep writing just for fun. For example, I really like writing short stories about what I imagine people’s lives are like-at least what I imagine it would be if I were in their mind. Sometimes these short works don’t get finished, but this current one I’m working on called “A Prediction From the Present” will get finished. I started it yesterday morning.

I won’t lie though, sometimes saying things I’m working on feels so corny. You know those random artists or book authors that are like “Hey guys, I’m working on a new thing and I just wanted you guys to be a part of it,” and then it’s a new smut series that took the least–I mean literally the most minimal effort-to produce? I know it’s corny but I can’t help but feel like Colleen Hoover announcing my first live action book coming to life whenever I talk about my written works, even when they aren’t in the same genre. I think it’s some subtle form of insecurity, but I’m definitely gonna squash it now. Writing is the best thing in my life, second to Jesus, and it’s one of the greatest things that God has ever given me. So, if I want to announce something I’m writing, I shall and without shame at that!

A good friend of mine named Logan Hodgins (he goes by Logan Mills on YouTube, check out his skating videos! He is incredibly talented!!) challenged me to completely my book before the end of the next academic school year, and I plan to actually have this book finished by then. So, if I start advertising a book called “The Regression” thank God for the idea for the book and thank Logan for challenging me to actually get it done!

Besides fulfilling Jesus time and glorious writing, I realized I’ve somewhat let myself go fitness wise. Thanks to either my father or my mother’s impeccable genes, I still have a lot of muscle definition with the most minimal effort to workout. Thanks to my dad’s side, all of my weight goes to my backside and thighs and my stomach typically remains perennially flat (thank God) but still, for the sake of health I really need to start working out. I don’t know how much weight I’ve gained, but it really doesn’t matter when looking at what I’ve been eating.

I’m eating like 70% trash and 30% nutritious stuff; thus I have decided to actually write down workout plans and eat a filling breakfast in the morning. Usually, in the morning I just eat fruits but that doesn’t fill me up, so I end up subliminally using my earlier meal of fruits to justify me getting a Cookout tray, ice cream from Boza Creamery, and maybe a cupcake from Maxie B’s. I feel like I should be gaining a lot more weight but it’s not really going anywhere, but what is my heart like? How is my liver processing things? How is my stomach feeling after having to digest another meal when it wasn’t even finished digesting the first one?

So, for breakfast I’m going to start incorporating more protein, carbs (honestly just bread), and fruits. Also, me and my dad were in talks of starting a membership at Planet Fitness so that will definitely help the gains even more. To be honest, functional workouts seem to be the most enjoyable right now, so I wrote a week worth of functional workouts to do to keep up with my goals.

Health is wealth guys. I believe that everyone can accomplish their goals through God’s help and simple self-discipline. There will very rarely be a time when you actually feel like doing the right thing, it’s so much easier to be lazy, inconsistent, and all the rest. We have to just choose what we want to do, regardless of how we feel. God bless all of you guys and I pray God’s abundance in Christ, blessings, guidance, and peace over all of your lives. Thank you so much for reading my blog, there will be more consistent posts coming up soon, especially on next week Wednesday! I appreciate all of you and have a great day!