NAMI walk 2012 and some other stuff

        So after writing 3 long paragraphs about the NAMI walk, and accidentally deleting it.I am going to try my best to write it again. So on Saturday I walked my first ever 3 mile walk. The NAMI walk takes place every spring and for me it was a beautiful sight to see all the walkers in attendance who were there to stomp out stigma!!! It was a really long walk!! I didn't do much psychical preparation for the walk. I wasn't even mentally prepared for how long the walk would be. Once the walk ended it felt like I walked a million miles. LOL. But I walked the 3 miles. I didn't use any of the transportation they provided. I was really pleased with myself. I only wish I had done more to prepare. But there's next year and I have plenty of time now to walk and even run!! I will definitely be going again next spring to the NAMI walk. It's a long walk but it's worth it.

    Once the walk was over I was dropped off at home and took an almost 3 hour nap. I was super tired when I got home. I haven't really kept the commitment to myself and that my parents told me to keep to myself which was to walk around the block. But as a small start I think I will walk the common in Lawrence and the common at home. I think I can do it!! Actually I know I can do it. I get tired very easily that's the hard part. Maybe I'm just lazy though who knows. I think I need to work on being more active so starting next week I will walk the common at least twice a week. I would like to lose a weight, maybe 5 or 10 pounds. I'm not heavy but I want to be at a healthy weight. I have not weighed myself in a few weeks so I will do that tomorrow and add my weight here and try my best to keep track every week of how much weight I've lost or gained. I really want to be healthy in general so if anyone has advice on what else I can do to lose some weight comment on my entry. The advice always helps!!

      I also have to tell everybody of another milestone. I have been a member of the Point After Club for two years. It's really been a good two years there for me. I've had two jobs since being a member there. I worked at Garden street and stop and shop. I owe so much to the staff there, they really have kept me sane. I have been able to speak at different functions at the club. I even spoke at the statehouse in Boston. That was a huge thing for me. I was extremely nervous but I was able to hold my composure and speak in front of a large gathering of people. The people at the club are very unique. They see me as an individual and not as someone with a mental illness. What's even more amazing is that you can't tell who's staff and who's member. We all work together. I'm really glad I found out about the club because if I didn't I'd probably be isolating at home. I'd be on facebook all day. That's not healthy at all. I'm on a lot as it is.

       I am really lucky that I have not been hospitalized due to my illness in 3 years!! It's amazing how far I've come. I have some other things to work on though. I must admit I don't take pride in myself. I don't see myself as being pretty I guess. I need to work on that. I certainly don't see myself as being ugly but there are days when it's hard to see myself the way others see me. I know there are people who think I'm attractive but I don't see it that way and that's really hard for me. I have a lot of self image issues. I was called ugly by my own peers when I was in school and let me tell you that really hurt to hear that. But I have to take it one day at a time and I have to come to realize that YES I am beautiful!! I think I will end this entry for now. I will keep this short but sweet as they say. If anything pops up I'll add to this one. I really urge my readers and followers to comment and send advice my way on how I can work on my self image issues. I would really appreciate it. Thanks for your time!!