To Run or Not to Run?

Climbing Out of That Box

This is a different article for me this week. Something a bit off my usual traveling here or there notes. As we go through this life, are the benefits of finding a way to exercise really so grand that they should be granted an article? I think so, especially considering the fact that exercise and health sciences was my major in college. Running has been and is a major antidepressant, rewarding hobby, and an overall amazing benefit in my life.

It became a huge factor to me when I moved to Abidjan for three months, where I was guarded and protected from whatever lay outside the walls. Believe me, this had its benefits (such as safety), but it also left me minimal space to do my “beloved” hobby.

Anyone who knows me knows that I love to workout, but I am a RUNNER in every sense of the word. I am officially addicted to the “runner’s high”. Anyone who knows running knows exactly what I am talking about—that sweaty, disgusting, exhilarating feeling after a three mile trek through any landscape. Well, obviously, I had taken this highly for granted when I moved to the Ivory Coast.

It was by no means anyone’s fault that I could not run, it just literally came with the territory. I would try to run in the small street outside the houses; but I would always get stopped by local children wanting to play, or bad weather, or someone wanting to play basketball. I begin to think I would never be able to get in a good, solid three miles or so. It was absolutely frustrating to me.

But then I realized something. There are more ways than one to get the high of an intense workout, to gain the rewarding feeling of doing something active and getting those endorphins moving. I begin to actually PLAY basketball with my brothers in Abidjan. I begin to dance with the children in the street to my little portable speaker belting out “Azonto”. I begin doing more cartwheels and handstands then I had ever done in my life. And guess what? It was just as fulfilling, if not more so than my usual runs.

I could never have imagined running not being a priority in my life, it not being the number one thing on my to do list. But that is exactly what Abidjan taught me. It taught me to think outside the box. It taught me that maybe, just maybe, changing things up are an indirect way to finding a new hobby or skill. As humans, we may not be excited at change, but it is as sure to come as the sun is to rise. So why not harness that westwardly wind into your sails, and set forth on a new endeavor. After all, variety is the spice of life, right?