Tonight begins one of the Jewish high holidays - Yom Kippur. If you're not Jewish or if you just don't know what Yom Kippur stands for, it's a time right after the Jewish new year to reflect and 'atone' for your "sins." 

I'm not a very religious Jew, I don't go to synogogue often, but I do practice Jewish traditions and I especially like to observe for Yom Kippur. I don't like to think I'm a sinner, and I'm definitely not a perfect being, but for me it's a good reminder to reflect on the past year, set a tone for myself for the upcoming months ahead and really set some intentions of where I would like to see myself in the next year. 

Get out of your comfort zone.

Working  full time now and adjusting to adult life has me even more so 'reflective' at this time of year. I feel SO lucky every single day that I get to come into work every day with a group of extremely talented people and then I can go home and teach my fitness classes and hang out with my main squeeze. It's a fun life, but I tend to get in my little 'comfort zones,' and I think that it's important at these times to realize why it's so important to get OUT of my comfort zone - personally and professionally.

This is the perfect time for me to start setting some new goals, not only because it's Yom Kippur, but also because my second quarterly review at work is coming up very soon. I've been working at Group Two for 5 months now (how did it go so quick?!) and I finally feel that I'm really getting the hang of things! It's time to challenge myself a little more. I'm excited to grow my knowledge in the advertising industry and keep learning new things. I have some specific goals but this isn't a work blog so I'll spare you the many specifics. 

In terms of personal goals, I have a few. I definitely want to grow my experience in the fitness industry. I've been teaching consistently about 1-2 times a week, but lately I've just been craving more. I don't know exactly what's next, but I want to eventually get my personal trainer certification and start networking a little bit more to take advantage of the awesome fitness scene in Philadelphia. Last night I met an instructor who teaches spin at a women's prison. How cool is that?! I also am determined to finish my first half marathon on October 31!

On another note, I'm determined to keep family on top. We're all spread out now. Womp. It's not so easy to hop in the car to drive home anymore, so I have to be more conscious about picking up the phone. Family is everything. 

Reflect.

With all of the above being said, I always like to take time to appreciate the past year and think of everything that I was able to accomplish. I'm happy with where I ended up after graduating and who I get to spend my days with. Life is really such an adventure! #RachelsDeepWordsOfWisdom.

Real time now - the Pope is coming to Philly this weekend and it's already a mad house here. There are porta-potties lining JFK Blvd. We're expecting 1,000,000 people. YIKES! The preparation is intense.

XO - Rach

Let's chat!

What are you excited for in the next few months?

How do you plan ahead and make goals? 

How often do you talk to your family?

As football season started on a very high note in the Gator Nation (pray it stays this way,) and my sister snap chats me out at MidTown on the reg, I can't help but feel way too nostalgic about college these days. Especially because this is the first year EVER (not ever, but it feels like it,) that I'm not returning back to school after the summer. It's different.  So I thought I would put all of my favorite memories into one post so I can feel like I'm reliving college again for this very moment. Don't get me wrong, I couldn't be happier to be working full time in a city I love, but MAN I miss college.

Top 5 things I miss most about college:

1. Friends, obviously. But really, it's hard being so far away from such great friends you make in college, right? It sucks. However, it just means more visits and travel to look forward to! 

2. Football games!! I remember my first UF home game. Or do I? Too much tailgating. Too much fun. There's a Gator Club in Philadelphia so you bet I'm going this Saturday night to watch them WIN. Am I getting obnoxious yet?

3. THE GYM. I had two jobs for my campus recreation program and it was literally my third home. RecSports was where I learned how to teach a group fitness class and also where I learned probably the most about anything related to becoming a young professional. I was a program assistant for the group fitness program there and was spoiled very much so. Meaning that every gym and group fitness program I've been to since RecSports just doesn't even come close. Well done, RecSports. Well done. 

4. Being able to skip class. You can't just skip work. It doesn't work like that. 

5. Being only 4 hours away from my family. I'm still getting used to this because it feels like I was just away for the summer, but being able to see my family only a few times a year is going to be a big change. What am I, an adult?

These are only a few things that I miss, but there is much more. Gainesville, FL has an awesome culture that's equally hipster and southern. It sits right in the middle of where tropical Florida meets Northern Florida. I'll also miss the late night pizzas (not that I won't do this currently, but it's not the same,) Dennis the go-go street dancer, REALLY lazy hungover Sundays,  the Gainesville winters (mostly because I'm not too excited about this northern winter coming up,) Paynes Prairie hikes, THE TOP,  stadium workouts...UGH I COULD GO ON. 

If you're still in college, ENJOY IT. It goes way, way too fast. 

XO-Rach

Let's chat! What's your favorite part about college? Best memory?

Happy Monday all! Can you guys believe that tomorrow is September? Ugh. Time goes too fast. Way too fast. I hope everyone had an awesome weekend. Mine was great, filled with a lot of my favorite things.

On Friday night Michael and I headed into Center City to go out for a birthday celebration. It was lots of fun and a great start to the weekend. On Saturday morning, being the crazy people that we are, we decided to wake up at 5:30 a.m. to drive to the beach. We wanted to spend ALL day there and had to be early just in case we hit traffic, you know? Rest assured, there is zero traffic from Philadelphia to Atlantic City, NJ on a Saturday morning at 5:30 a.m. We got to Brigantine Beach around 7:30, waited for the CVS to open at 8 to get sunscreen, and we were on the beach by 8:15 and stayed until 6. It was PERFECT. Not a cloud in the sky :)

Brigantine Beach is an awesome location if you're anywhere near the Jersey area. It doesn't get too crowded, the sand is super soft, it really looks like a Florida beach AND there's a bar right on the beach. It's pretty perfect!

The full day of sun knocked me out and I got a solid 10 hours of sleep on Saturday night. Woke up Sunday morning ready to tackle my 8 mile run!

My run on Sunday was definitely harder than my 7 miler last weekend, but I keep surprising myself. I seriously thought when I started training for this half marathon that anything more than 5 miles is just going to feel like death, but to be honest, the long runs are my favorite. I think it's mostly because I can sleep in, eat a good breakfast and enjoy the morning. The slow and steady pace is leisurely and although I sweat like a pig, it's just refreshing to run along the river and zone out in my music. I think I'm starting to experience these runner highs.

Next weekend I am going to taper off and do either a 6 or 7 mile run and then the week after I will do 9. I still have a solid 8 weeks before the race, but I am glad I started training earlier because it's giving me confidence that I'll be able to finish the race without dying. Typing about it also helps :)

Now I'm off to work (currently on the train)! I was quite absent from the blog last week so this week I plan to come back strong - I've got a couple recipes on the menu, a workout and ooohh a video! Stay tuned...

XO Rach

What would you like to see more of on this blog? I'm all ears (eyes)!