Old Thoughts for a New School Year

Personal Statement

I, Laura, promise this fall to seek first the kingdom of God. I promise to always put God first. I promise to practice discipline. To rely on my creator for strength. To trust in him to be enough. To seek after him with every fiber of my being and let him satisfy me. I promise not to let my god be my stomach, but to know that Jesus will satisfy every desire. I promise to read my bible every day. Even when I don’t feel like it. I promise to clean my room. To create an environment that fosters joy and discipline. I will do laundry frequently and make my bed every morning. I will be early to every class and every practice. I will visualize hard workouts and meets. I will eat clean and live my life the way I need to be a true champion runner. I promise to never eat even a single bite if I am not truly hungry. If my stomach is not growling, I will not eat, even if it’s one blueberry or one cherry or a bite of an apple. Not matter how tempting or how good it sounds, only Jesus satisfies and eating will only make crave more. Oscar Wilde was wrong, the only way to get rid of temptation is to not yield to it. Temptation is difficult, but it is the sure sign that I am on the right track. If I am living in self indulgence and luxury, I will not know the companionship of temptation, but if I am living the good life, it will visit me often, but with the help of God, I can stand strong, not yielding, not surrendering, never compromising. I will not adjust my dreams to fit my feelings. I will not
I, Laura, promise to use my mouth only for good. I will not complain, I will not argue, I will not gossip. I will not speak negatively about friends, teammates, roommates, or professors. will say only what is useful for building others up. I will be quick to listen and slow to speak. I will listen, not share my opinions. A fool airs his opinion, but I will be wise and humble and keep my opinion to myself unless asked, for even a fool seems wise until he opens his mouth.
I commit to keeping an accurate food journal. Every thing I eat will be written. I will also keep track of fitness.
I promise to do morning workouts every day. Run, core, stretch, etc. With my first class at 11:10 and only 2 classes a day, this really shouldn’t be an issue. I promise to look my best. To straighten my hair and dress well, even if it means feeling semi-stupid and risking boys thinking I look dumb, dressing up is worth it. I promise to always come showered and clean, looking my best, as if I was going on a first date or would be on TV. I am serious when I pledge to abstain from diet soda, to not pick my split ends, and to not snack between meals (exception vegetables). I will create meal plans and stick with them. I would also like to limit the amount of coffee I drink. I will drink coffee only about 2-3 times a week maximum. I can drink as much tea as I would like. I want to look my best to be my best. As coach says, “if you look good, you feel good, you run good”. Dress for success. I will floss my teeth every day, use whitening mouth wash twice a day, and use white strips. I will severely limit the quantity of dark liquids I consume. I will take risks with fashion.
I know that I am loved. I am wanted and chosen in Christ. I, Laura Zwilling, will put others first this semester. I will seek to understand before being understood. I will be a support and an encouragement to others. I will treat boys like brothers in Christ, and this does not mean ignoring them, on the contrary this means going out of my way to say hi! I am committing to never quit. To not miss a single cross country meet or workout. Where there’s a will, there’s a way. I will focus on eating vegetables, and eat roughly 5 servings a day.
I will think about things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable excellent, and praiseworthy. I will seek after the lord with all that I have. Draw near to the lord and he will draw near to you. I will love others deeply. I will pray without ceasing, be joyful always, and give thanks in all circumstances. I will give my very best in everything. At every workout, I will give it my absolute all. No excuses, nothing saved. Every minute I will focus and push myself on God’s strength. No negative thoughts, no self defeating speech. Others suffer too. Kayla is not necessarily more mentally tough than I am. In fact, I am mentally tough. I am what I continually do and I am mentally tough. Here is a list of affirmations of things I want to be. If I repeat them often enough, will they become true? I am beautiful, I am lovely, I am disciplined, I am mentally tough, I am hard working, I am smart, I am fast, I am a runner, I am talented, I am clean, I am organized. I will weigh out food when needed (buy food scale) and record exactly what I eat, every bite. I will not compromise in my healthy eating goals. I will not eat one m&m. I will not take one sip of diet soda. I will limit fruit to 1 serving per day. Eat lots and lots of healthy veggies. I will not eat cereal unless pre-measured and box put away, no more than 2 servings at one meal. I will not eat peanut butter unless on toast (otherwise I seriously eat like half the jar with a spoon in a matter of days without even realizing how much I've eaten!), absolutely no food after 8pm. Absolutely no snacking. not one kernel of popcorn, not one grape, not one bite of cereal. don't sample someone's milkshake. don't eat off other people's plate. serve myself a small meal and trust that that's enough. remember how little I ate in belize? yet I felt great! I wasn't too hungry, I felt good most of the week! I also want to be generous. This goes beyond a tithe. This is being radically generous with my time, money, energy, food, etc. I want to read my bible every day for AT LEAST ten minutes. then write down the one verse or so that stuck out. memorize one verse a week. I don't want to be judgmental. I want to love all no matter what! I also want to eat slow, enjoy my food. sit down for three defined meals. no in between snacking. when i stand up, meal is over.

In Summary: Fall 2010 Rules
1. No diet soda
2. Bible everyday
3. Core everyday
4. Floss and mouthwash everyday
5. Make your bed
6. Clean your room
7. No snacking between set meals
8. No complaining or gossiping
9. Be early
10. No junk food
11. Don’t procrastinate paperwork
12. Be ultra organized
13. Look your best
14. Choose joy
15. absolutely no hair picking
16. 100% food journal
17. give 100% in all workouts
18. Be generous in everything
19. eat slow
20. focus on moderation. eat like a European
21. no aspartame