Thursday, April 12, 2012
Blog 4: I Evaluate
This Monday marked the end of my one week experiment in living sustainably. I have to say, the past week was quite a trial of my will and dedication. Unfortunately, by the end of the week I had abandoned my efforts to eat entirely raw foods. I amended my previous efforts by instead eating only locally produced vegetarian foods, and keeping at least two of my daily meals raw. I did this because, by the end of my experiment, I felt that I had gotten the full perspective of what it really means to be a raw foodist, such as believing in the importance of retaining nutrients in our food, the added health benefits, and having a deeper connection with the earth. I feel as if I would have been more committed to being a raw foodist if it were an aspect of livlihood that was truly meaningful to me. For example, I am a vegetarian because I believe there is no justification for the mistreatment of our animals and the proceeding inflation of our meats with chemicals and preservatives. The fact that the term "factory farming" even exists is revolting to me. What I'm getting at, here, is that being a vegetarian is incredibly important to me. Being a raw foodist (to be truthful) is not. That, I think, is why this aspect of my experiment was so difficult for me. The other aspects of my living experiment went well because I was completely committed to making them work. I wanted to train for my half marathon. I wanted to challenge myself to reuse all of my products at least once. I wanted to make a positive impact on the community via helping my friend with his fundraiser and making a positive impact on the environment by carpooling and walking from place to place. This, the clear distinction between acting upon what matters to me and what does not, is reflective of the population of the world. If we all care about the environment and try to make a positive impact (as I did for a week), we can truly make a change for the better in our own livelihood as well as the lifespan of our planet. However, if we do not care enough to follow through with our actions (as I did not with my raw food diet) we will never be able to make a change. Saying I was going to be a raw foodist for a week is not the same thing as being as raw foodist for a week. Saying that we are going to make less of an impact environmentally by reusing bags or carpooling is not effective unless we actually do reuse and reduce our impact. If we really do want to make a positive change in our environment instead of just saying we want to make a change, we must first determine how much of our convenient life style (such as efficient transportation and easily prepared food) we are willing to sacrifice.
Monday, April 9, 2012
Blog 3: I Fail
Alright, so I guess this experiment has gone down hill a bit. And I really don't have any valid excuses for this happening. Essentially, I cheated on three aspects of my experiment--food, consumerism, and transportation. To explain, let me take you back to this past Thursday. Day 4 of being a carpooling raw-foodist who volunteers for her friends in between running, reusing all of her would-be waste, and buying no new goods outside of food. Unfortunately, Thursday was the exception to my experiment in living. It had been going so well, too! Admittedly, I learned my lesson regarding raw foods within the first day (can't I just have something warm? A cup of coffee?), but still had not cheated. However, come Thursday, the day of darkness in my experiment, I failed miserably.
Typically on Thursdays I work at Georgetown Cupcake from 12-5pm. This is never a problem, as I never have commitments on Thursdays outside of work. However, on this fateful Thursday, I had a meeting with a professor at 5:45 pm. It would be a close call, but I was confident that if the bus came by 5:10 then I wouldn't have a problem getting back to campus.
Clearly, I spoke too soon. At 5:08 I was still clocked in at work, helping a overly confused women understand that yes, our sizes do run very small and yes, it is in fact okay to ask for a larger size. As the clocked rolled over to 5:12, I realized that there was no way I was going to make it to campus on time if I took the bus, especially in rush hour traffic. At this point, I determined I was going to have to take a cab. But it was just this once! And it's just three miles--right up Wisconsin to Massachusetts. It'll be okay, I convinced myself. It's just this one slip up. I clocked out, quite literally ran out the door of the shop, turned right onto M street, and near instantly caught a cab. I sat down and took a sigh of relief. I would be getting back to campus on time, maybe even with time to spare! This fantasy, however, was short lived as my driver crossed Wisconsin and continued down M street. I had said American University, hadn't I? Before I could even mutter my discontent at the situation at hand, my driver told me, in a very thick Jamaican accent, that he was taking me about a mile out of the way in order to avoid the traffic on Wisconsin. Okay. But...can't he understand by the frantic look in my eyes that I'm in a huge rush? I don't have time for a leisurely drive all over the city. Regardless of how poorly constructed Wisconsin Avenue may be, it undoubtedly would have been faster for him to sit through a few intersections than take me the way he was now. Furthermore, by driving the two legs of this triangle instead of the hypotenuse, he was contributing so much more harmful gas to the environment--he may not care, but this was on my conscience! It's bad enough that I'm not carpooling and spending money on public transportation. But he was making this a costly trip that, emotionally, I was not prepared for. The worst part was that now it was 5:40 and we were still about a mile from campus. So, even in this cab drivers efforts to "avoid traffic," It took the same amount of time, if not more. Arriving on the back side of campus, I begrudgingly paid my $14.00 fee (which could have been $1.70 if I took the bus) and stormed off towards EQB.
Moments later, my meeting with my professor was over and I texted a group of my friends to see who was up for some dinner. We agreed to meet at the Tavern, and I realized that I was famished. And you know what? I didn't feel like a dry salad or a bowl of cantaloupe. I felt like a burrito from Salsa. So that is what I got. And you know what else? I loved every second of eating that burrito. Of course, the guilt that hit me later was not worth indulging myself and disregarding my efforts thus far in the experiment. You win some, you lose some.
Typically on Thursdays I work at Georgetown Cupcake from 12-5pm. This is never a problem, as I never have commitments on Thursdays outside of work. However, on this fateful Thursday, I had a meeting with a professor at 5:45 pm. It would be a close call, but I was confident that if the bus came by 5:10 then I wouldn't have a problem getting back to campus.
Clearly, I spoke too soon. At 5:08 I was still clocked in at work, helping a overly confused women understand that yes, our sizes do run very small and yes, it is in fact okay to ask for a larger size. As the clocked rolled over to 5:12, I realized that there was no way I was going to make it to campus on time if I took the bus, especially in rush hour traffic. At this point, I determined I was going to have to take a cab. But it was just this once! And it's just three miles--right up Wisconsin to Massachusetts. It'll be okay, I convinced myself. It's just this one slip up. I clocked out, quite literally ran out the door of the shop, turned right onto M street, and near instantly caught a cab. I sat down and took a sigh of relief. I would be getting back to campus on time, maybe even with time to spare! This fantasy, however, was short lived as my driver crossed Wisconsin and continued down M street. I had said American University, hadn't I? Before I could even mutter my discontent at the situation at hand, my driver told me, in a very thick Jamaican accent, that he was taking me about a mile out of the way in order to avoid the traffic on Wisconsin. Okay. But...can't he understand by the frantic look in my eyes that I'm in a huge rush? I don't have time for a leisurely drive all over the city. Regardless of how poorly constructed Wisconsin Avenue may be, it undoubtedly would have been faster for him to sit through a few intersections than take me the way he was now. Furthermore, by driving the two legs of this triangle instead of the hypotenuse, he was contributing so much more harmful gas to the environment--he may not care, but this was on my conscience! It's bad enough that I'm not carpooling and spending money on public transportation. But he was making this a costly trip that, emotionally, I was not prepared for. The worst part was that now it was 5:40 and we were still about a mile from campus. So, even in this cab drivers efforts to "avoid traffic," It took the same amount of time, if not more. Arriving on the back side of campus, I begrudgingly paid my $14.00 fee (which could have been $1.70 if I took the bus) and stormed off towards EQB.
Moments later, my meeting with my professor was over and I texted a group of my friends to see who was up for some dinner. We agreed to meet at the Tavern, and I realized that I was famished. And you know what? I didn't feel like a dry salad or a bowl of cantaloupe. I felt like a burrito from Salsa. So that is what I got. And you know what else? I loved every second of eating that burrito. Of course, the guilt that hit me later was not worth indulging myself and disregarding my efforts thus far in the experiment. You win some, you lose some.
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Blog 2: I Run
Over the past few days my experiment has been going surprisingly well. In it's own quirky, unexpected sort of way this experiment in living sustainably for a week has turned out kind of...dare I say...fun? I'm really beginning to like figuring out new ways to reuse things I mindlessly would have thrown away just a few days ago. For example, I bought a cup of strawberries (sticking to my raw food diet) from Ward before my Macro class this afternoon. Instead of throwing the cup out once I was done with it, I used it again when I got TDR-in-a-box this afternoon rather than taking one of the paper Coca-Cola cups. (Technically, I suppose I should have just stuck with my reusable water bottle, but that's besides the point.)
What I'm enjoying most about this experiment, (even more than reusing my would-have-been trash), is going for runs. My times aren't great, but they aren't bad. Moreover, I'm loving that, since signing up for my half-marathon, I now have a reason to push my limits. Unfortunately, I lost my stop watch at the gym the other day (much to my horror...when did I even take it off my wrist?), and thus have to run without it. I used this as an excuse today to not time myself or to worry about my splits--instead, I wanted to just relax and go. I headed down to one of my favorite trails expecting to do one of my typical runs--down New Mexico Avenue to the entrance of the trail, take the trail to the steep uphill that takes me up to a field near U Street, down past the Georgetown Hospital, down another trail at the Dog Park, and then back to AU. However, this time I saw a new trail opening that I had never explored before. So on this, the day of free running, I made a last second turn to the right and headed down this unexplored trail. What resulted from this spontaneous decision was one of the best runs I've had all semester. Although it only ended up being 35 minutes or so, I crossed a stream via walking over a fallen tree, saw some amazing wild flowers, found a hidden teepee made out of sticks and branches, and was able to enjoy the greenery of the trees and grass. These types of adventures in running is what makes the sport truly worth while for me; I can't say that I'm the most competitive person, but I love nature and being outside and feeling active and healthy.
In addition to finding happiness by running, I have managed to find happiness by becoming more active in the AU community. My friend Alex, who is pledging one of AU's fraternities, needed to find a volunteer to help raise money for Push America, a fundraiser which raises money for soldiers that have been wounded in Combat. Being the great best friend that I am, I volunteered to stand on the quad with him and harass our fellow schoolmates for spare change. Unexpectedly, this went rather well, as we ran into some friends from our floor and raised $35 from them alone. This was fun to do, mostly, because it was the first fundraising event I took part in on campus since coming to AU. Back home in Connecticut, I was used to doing bake sales for cross country, track, and class council. But what I realized by doing this fundraiser is that I've never done a fund raiser that benefits people that are less fortunate than I. How, in my 19 years of existence, have I not done this? Why wasn't fundraising for charities more important to me before? The only charities I've partaken in in the past have been road races, but, needless to say, I'm sure only a very small portion of my $20 race fee actually goes to a good cause.
Before I start delving into some sort of internal crisis about how my existence is purposeless if not fully devoted to helping others, I'm going to wrap this post up. For that reason, and also because it is time to make some raw guacamole.
What I'm enjoying most about this experiment, (even more than reusing my would-have-been trash), is going for runs. My times aren't great, but they aren't bad. Moreover, I'm loving that, since signing up for my half-marathon, I now have a reason to push my limits. Unfortunately, I lost my stop watch at the gym the other day (much to my horror...when did I even take it off my wrist?), and thus have to run without it. I used this as an excuse today to not time myself or to worry about my splits--instead, I wanted to just relax and go. I headed down to one of my favorite trails expecting to do one of my typical runs--down New Mexico Avenue to the entrance of the trail, take the trail to the steep uphill that takes me up to a field near U Street, down past the Georgetown Hospital, down another trail at the Dog Park, and then back to AU. However, this time I saw a new trail opening that I had never explored before. So on this, the day of free running, I made a last second turn to the right and headed down this unexplored trail. What resulted from this spontaneous decision was one of the best runs I've had all semester. Although it only ended up being 35 minutes or so, I crossed a stream via walking over a fallen tree, saw some amazing wild flowers, found a hidden teepee made out of sticks and branches, and was able to enjoy the greenery of the trees and grass. These types of adventures in running is what makes the sport truly worth while for me; I can't say that I'm the most competitive person, but I love nature and being outside and feeling active and healthy.
In addition to finding happiness by running, I have managed to find happiness by becoming more active in the AU community. My friend Alex, who is pledging one of AU's fraternities, needed to find a volunteer to help raise money for Push America, a fundraiser which raises money for soldiers that have been wounded in Combat. Being the great best friend that I am, I volunteered to stand on the quad with him and harass our fellow schoolmates for spare change. Unexpectedly, this went rather well, as we ran into some friends from our floor and raised $35 from them alone. This was fun to do, mostly, because it was the first fundraising event I took part in on campus since coming to AU. Back home in Connecticut, I was used to doing bake sales for cross country, track, and class council. But what I realized by doing this fundraiser is that I've never done a fund raiser that benefits people that are less fortunate than I. How, in my 19 years of existence, have I not done this? Why wasn't fundraising for charities more important to me before? The only charities I've partaken in in the past have been road races, but, needless to say, I'm sure only a very small portion of my $20 race fee actually goes to a good cause.
Before I start delving into some sort of internal crisis about how my existence is purposeless if not fully devoted to helping others, I'm going to wrap this post up. For that reason, and also because it is time to make some raw guacamole.
Blog 1: I Eat
Alas, my experiment in living sustainably for a week has begun. To be honest, it is off to a difficult start. I found myself feeling as challenged as Colin Beavan must have felt upon the first day of his living experiment when he woke up and, contradicting his best intentions of not using any new products or producing trash, used a paper towel to blow his nose. I, on the other hand, was stopped short in my tracks when reaching for an Oreo for breakfast, as Oreos are far from included in the list of foods I can eat on my raw food diet. Clearly, this whole 'raw food' thing was going to be much harder than I had anticipated. I mean, really, no Oreos for a week? No processed junk foods, cookies, ice cream, pasta, bagels? (This makes me sound like a carboholic. I ensure you, I am far from that. I'm merely a distance runner, and little is more important to the running community than buttery pasta.) Almost instantly, I realized that my outlook on this raw food diet was much too negative. Instead of focusing on all the foods I couldn't have, I needed to focus on all the foods I could have. I needed to convince myself that vegetables could, in fact, be fun! (Still working on that part. Asparagus will never be appealing.) Regardless, I would have to eat them because not only did I want to fully experience the raw food diet, I wanted to experience it thoroughly in order to understand the challenges that face people who are so opposed to meat, vegetarianism, and even veganism that they are propelled towards raw foodism. So then, I thought to myself, let's make some trail mix. I opened my cabinet and took out all the dried fruit and nut supplies I had acquired for the week: dried apple, pineapple, cranberries, and strawberries, pumpkin seeds, pistachios, and these fancy chocolate raw food bars I had found at Safeway. I emptied them all into the container the pineapple was originally in, rather than using a new plastic bag. (Note the consumption aspect of my previous blog--reusing things at least once before I throw them away!) This still left me with 5 other plastic bags, though. I solved this problem quickly, as I divided up my tub of trail mix into equal portions in the 5 other bags, one per day for the remainder of the experiment. Thankfully, this was getting easier, as the other aspects of my day went well. I went for a run, which went just swimmingly--somehow I managed to knock out 50 minutes, but at a moderately easy pace. Also, I didn't need to leave campus today, so I made no negative impact in terms of transportation.
Now, for the moderately embarassing news: The base number of times I checked Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter. Facebook check: 26 times; Tumblr: 15 times; Twitter, 12 times. And if I can just make an excuse to defend myself here, I'm working on a project for my Cross Cultural Communications class and my group members are being very ambiguous in terms of being anywhere at our specified meeting times and at answering any of my very persistent Facebook messages. I expect this number to be lower tomorrow and throughout the rest of the week, and I'm excited to see where this experiment will take me in the following six days!
One Week Plan in Living Sustainably
In Lit 101, we have been discussing how to live sustainably in the 21st century when faced with challenging issues such as pollution, excessive consumerism, and detrimental food sources. In response to these negative environmental changes, I will be changing six aspects of my livelihood for the following week. These aspects include transportation, food, consumerism, technology, positive impacts, and health and happiness. I will be making these changes in order to challenge myself and to experience alternative lifestyles which are sustainable and healthier for the environment. My changes will be as follows:
1. Transportation- Because I work in Georgetown, I take the bus or an occasional taxi about eight times a week. Since I do not have enough time to walk the three miles to work, I will mostly focus on taking the bus instead of a taxi and ensure that I am always carpooling in some way. This will ensure that I am not personally contributing to excessive harmful carbon emissions or pollution to the environment.
2. Food- This week, I am going to delve into raw foodism. After reading No Impact Manand Eating Animals, I decided that there really is no justification for the cruelty inflicted upon animals nor for the artificial products inserted into our meats. As a result of this reasoning, I became a vegetarian. In order to “push the envelope,” so to speak, I am going to see how much effort and work goes into becoming a raw foodist. This means only eating fruits, vegetables, raw nuts, or other foods that have been prepared by means of dehydration. I anticipate this to be the most difficult aspect of the living experiment because, whilst being a vegetarian at AU is a breeze, being a raw foodist will prove to be much more challenging.
3. Consumerism- This week, I will not purchase goods outside of food products to ensure that I am not frivolously making purchases. I expect that this will result in making less waste, as I also am going to re-use all my potential waste products at least once.
4. Technology- Admittedly, I am currently using social media sites much too frequently. I often find myself procrastinating by checking Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr. To reduce my dependence on these social media sites, I am going to keep a daily count of how many times a day I check these websites in the hopes of reducing my use by 50 percent by the end of the week.
5. Positive Impact/ Political Action- This week I will be participating in a fundraiser for Push America, which raises money for soldiers which have been wounded in combat. This will help me become more involved in the AU community and make me more aware of the needs of local and national soldiers.
6. Health and Happiness- The one thing that I truly love to do in my spare time is run. I have been running since 7th grade, but, since coming to college, have lost sight of my passion. I will use this week as an excuse to rekindle my love for running as I intend to register and then start training for a half marathon. This will serve as motivation to continue my career with running as well as encourage me to push the mental and physical boundaries that I haven’t experienced since coming to college.
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