Four score and seven years ago, I wrote my most recent blog post. I think the first step in anything is admitting that you have a problem, so this is me admitting that I have a problem with staying consistent with my posts anytime I have finals, start a new job, decide that my nails are too long and the clicking sound of them on my keyboard is annoying, or get mildly inconvenienced in any way at all, so I apologize for that. I'm buying a new planner this week, since my old one is all used up (Sorry not sorry that buying new planners is honestly one of the best things that ever happens to me, I just can't function without my old-fashioned paper planner telling me what to do every hour of the day. Honest to goodness, we had team practice at three pm every day during the last school year, and you know what was still in my planner just in case I developed spontaneous and rapid-progressing Alzheimer's at two pm on a weekday? "Practice, three pm), so hopefully I can shame myself into more consistency by penciling in blogging once a week.
"What have you been doing that takes up so much time that you couldn't spend thirty minutes updating us so we didn't all think you died or had converted to some religious practice that doesn't believe in the use of computers because it teaches that technology all comes from aliens?", you ask? Well fellas, allow me to update you.
This summer, I started the first job that I have ever really felt fulfilled at. I work at a residential treatment center in Brigham City, about thirty minutes from Logan, where I decided to stay for the summer to run and have better access to treatment and teammates to run with. For those of you wondering what on earth residential treatment is, it is essentially a rehabilitation center. The center I work in is a home that works specifically with boys aged fourteen to eighteen who live there twenty-four hours a day until their treatment is completed or they are pulled from the program. They attend school there, and meet with therapists on-site for group or individual therapy. My official job title is "Mentor", and my role in the house is basically to hang out with the boys all day. I am there to first and foremost make sure they are safe and supervised, but more so to help them establish healthy connections, learn how to communicate their feelings effectively, feel as though they have people in their lives who genuinely care for them, and guide them through difficult experiences or uncomfortable encounters. I started there just over a month, and I already love the boys in the house a crazy amount. It's honestly like I suddenly have twenty-five rowdy, sensitive, fun, caring, sometimes obnoxious teenage sons-I always call them my Catalyst babies outside of work. These boys are amazing. Even during the most difficult shifts with them, I learn something new, and their capacity to listen to viewpoints they don't agree with and be open-minded to new ideas is more than they even realize. They also keep me laughing, which is what gets us all through the rough days. Somehow, they manage to simultaneously make me want to adopt or foster a child immediately and never ever ever ever ever have children. The feeling that I make a difference for even one of these boys, though, has given me so much joy that I feel for the first time that I've discovered a career that I feel content allowing to define me outside of my running. All of our boys have their own difficulties to work through, and whenever one of my boys feels comfortable opening up to me or even just being willing to take a walk and listen to options when he's upset is one of the most rewarding things I've ever experienced. For every moment that is emotionally exhausting and you just want to throw in the towel and apply for an easier job, there are moments that make it all worth it-Last night's moment was when three of the boys were goofing off and refused to stay in bed until they were all tucked in and sang lullabies. Other times, it's the out-of-the-blue quotes from the boys that mentors share at the end of the shift that bring us all to tears with how amusing they are-Like a boy who walked up to me during the middle of one of his classes, applying chapstick like a young girl putting on her mother's lipstick for the first time to say, "Lys, I have to keep my lips as smooth as a baby's butt. I look way more attractive that way."
Beyond the interactions with the boys, there are countless other enjoyable aspects of my job. On rec days, we get to go cliff jumping, mountain biking, hiking, skating, and trail running with the boys, among other things. We also watch movies with them, cook with them, play games, and do morning workouts together. Most of the time, we are just there to hang out with them and do whatever it is they are doing at the time. For this summer, my job has been my life and I'm loving it.
Running-wise, I think this may just be the healthiest summer I have had since starting my running journey freshman year of high school. There is still a lot of internal conflict when I go for a run without a gps and just go by time and feel, but I'm learning to be comfortable with doing what is best for my body and trust that doing so will be better for my career in the long run. Also, I've learned to take days off when I'm sick or cut mileage for cross training when I need to. I had some kind of viral infection my first few weeks of work because TBH working at Catalyst is kind of similar to working on the Mayflower with plague rats running loose-once an infection gets into the house, you're absolutely not going to avoid catching it. My immune system has taken a beating on this job-but I actually took a day off to recover when the infection clung on for over a week. Honestly, who is she? Staying in Logan for the summer has been great for my running, because I actually get to meet up with teammates and see trainers (ILY Sonia) when I feel like I'm on the verge of losing my mind to running and becoming a nut case who lives alone in the mountains living off of tofu and mileage. It's also given me a chance to branch out and meet new people outside of the running world. I love love love my teammates, of course, but I also believe strongly that it's healthy to have people in your life with no connection to running to keep you grounded.
Brace yourselves for more updates on Catalyst adventures, because lord knows this job provides me with stories for days.
*If you didn't catch the reference in the title, Lana Del Ray has a song that absolutely vibes called Summer Bummer.
Running-wise, I think this may just be the healthiest summer I have had since starting my running journey freshman year of high school. There is still a lot of internal conflict when I go for a run without a gps and just go by time and feel, but I'm learning to be comfortable with doing what is best for my body and trust that doing so will be better for my career in the long run. Also, I've learned to take days off when I'm sick or cut mileage for cross training when I need to. I had some kind of viral infection my first few weeks of work because TBH working at Catalyst is kind of similar to working on the Mayflower with plague rats running loose-once an infection gets into the house, you're absolutely not going to avoid catching it. My immune system has taken a beating on this job-but I actually took a day off to recover when the infection clung on for over a week. Honestly, who is she? Staying in Logan for the summer has been great for my running, because I actually get to meet up with teammates and see trainers (ILY Sonia) when I feel like I'm on the verge of losing my mind to running and becoming a nut case who lives alone in the mountains living off of tofu and mileage. It's also given me a chance to branch out and meet new people outside of the running world. I love love love my teammates, of course, but I also believe strongly that it's healthy to have people in your life with no connection to running to keep you grounded.
Brace yourselves for more updates on Catalyst adventures, because lord knows this job provides me with stories for days.
*If you didn't catch the reference in the title, Lana Del Ray has a song that absolutely vibes called Summer Bummer.
