Break a Sweat, Change Your Life

     I first saw the UCLA Banner with these words: Break a Sweat, Change Your Life printed on it while on an early morning bike ride. I was on my way up Cabrillo toward PCH and I stopped to take a picture of the sign. 
     "I'm changing my life now," I said aloud to the thick air and the hurricane sky. I was sweating. It was hot. It's been hot for days and I'd been waking up earlier and earlier to get out of the house earlier so I could go for a bike ride. I have been taking this route for a week now, up and down the hills of Cabrillo.
     I hadn't been on a bike for years before Bill pulled our bikes from their utility hooks in the garage. They were dusty to say the least and it took me a minute to get comfortable. For the first week or so we rode together. Then Bill was out of town for work. I was a little nervous about riding alone, but I really really really wanted to ride. So, I ventured out, alone, first close to home, riding through old Torrance, and crossing Carson at this one particular light and staying in the neighborhood near the high school. And then, I went further. And then further. And now I go all the way past PCH up into the hills. (Not too far into the hills, I'm not there yet, but may be soon.)
     I love these rides. And I have to say, breaking this kind of sweat and pushing out of my comfort zone, even in this way, is empowering.
    I tucked my phone back into my pocket and pedaled on. 
    The words stayed with me. Break a sweat, change your life. I thought about it as I rode. Exercise changes your life and makes you sweat. But it can be empowering. It can change your life on many levels. Not just make you healthier, or fit into your close, but makes you stronger, physically yes, but also emotionally, mentally, and maybe even spiritually. Lots of things do.
     Trying new things, standing up to a bully, proposing to your significant other, taking a test, speaking in front of a huge audience, all these things are life-changing in subtle and not-so-subtle ways. And they might just make you sweat.
    I remember the first time I stood in front of the class in Jack Grape's office to read.
       "Carolyn," Jack said, "you're up."  
        I was sitting on the sofa. Despite the air conditioning, I was sweating, my skirt sticking to the back of my thighs, the sweat pooling in the small of my back.  Jack was smiling. Sitting in his usual seat, a folding chair behind his makeshift desk, more like a miniature wooden bookshelf with just one shelf. On it, his pen, clipboard, and a small paper plate with his snacks: three potato chips, a Snackwells Devil's Food Cookie, and a scoop of Chex mix.  There were maybe 25 other students in the room, and I had to get up and read in front of them. I didn't want to. I was afraid. Fear. This was a familiar feeling. Not only to stand up in front of a room and speak, but now I had to read something I wrote. What if they hated it? What if I'm a horrible writer? What if, what if, what if. The what if's were doing laps in my brain, splashing their terrible scenarios all over the walls of my mind. I wanted to run out of the room. But I didn't. I took a deep breath. 
       "Okay," I said. And I stood up. Walked to the front of the room. And I read. And it wasn't so horrible. And each time, it got easier. Sure, sometimes I get nervous reading my work, but that's NORMAL.
      
       It's sometimes the things that you least expect that have the greatest impact on your life. 
       
       And maybe I'm pushing this metaphor to its limit, but I believe taking a writing class can be scary, AND it may make you sweat, but it WILL change your life. Find your voice, and you will change your life. 

       I invite you to find YOUR voice and change your life TOMORROW! Join Adventures in Writing. 
There is a seat for you. Tuesdays and Wednesdays classes are open, there is room for YOU!

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