Truth

Since we're going to be friends, I should be honest right from the start.

I'm listening to Def Leppard's "Hysteria" as I write this.

Yes, it's true, and I'm not ashamed to share my choice of soundtrack with my audience...but that's not what I feel compelled to come clean about. I didn't start this blog solely for my philosophical wanderings and shameless self-promotion (I'm going to have a MFA in Professional and Creative Writing with a dual focus on poetry and copywriting as of late May, I'm an associate editor with a small literary press, an assistant instructor at a state university, and a published poet - hire me!). Ahem. I'm also using it to help complete my Master's degree.

When part of the program I'm enrolled in, students are asked to pick an activity to "enrich" themselves. Upon completion of the "enrichment project," students are then expected to prepare an "enrichment presentation." I don't know why I keep surrounding any phrase with "enrichment" with quotation marks, but it feels right. I think I'll continue to do so for the rest of this blog's life. Some of my peers started their own literary rags, mentored kids from underprivileged areas, and created writing groups for war veterans. What do I decide to do? Get my ass to a gym and start seriously practicing yoga.

In a past life, I was a dancer. Ballet and lyrical, with minor forays into jazz and tap. Though it was years ago, I still find myself standing in third position a lot. I'm not claiming to have been a great dancer, but I loved it. The stretches and steps lay dormant in my muscles. They become active in empty houses or dark streets where I have enough room to move and no one around to see what I'm doing. I've used my old costumes for several successful Halloween get-ups, though I added a little extra something to the traditional tutus with fishnet tights and knee high boots. When I type something, I mean slutty.

Anyways, I considered taking up dance again for this "enrichment project." After some research, the cost of my triumphant return had me reconsidering my options. I spend a lot of time by myself, sitting quietly, writing and grading. I needed something to balance this, where I could go and move and see people and forget about my life that stresses me to the point of tears every other day. I'm about to turn twenty-five, I live in my parents' house in a state that bores me, I have no hope of employment after May in sight, and student loans are waiting to eat my face as soon as I graduate. Some stress relief would be good for me, I think.

A good friend of mine suggested her and I try out bikram yoga. I said sure. I told her I could even parlay it into my "enrichment project." She said great! That's not what we were saying after we actually tried it...