Finding Time to Eat Healthy

In today's society, it is hard to find the time to cook and eat healthy meals. Teenagers and children have so much going on in their lives that they aren't home around dinner time, and with the many hours of sports practices and commitments, it may seem like the only option in fast food.
It is true that people are busy and finding time for something other than McDonald's or Wendy's seems near impossible but it is actually not as difficult as it may seem. If you only have one busy night in the week then I think it is acceptable to designate that as the night you go out to dinner every week. However, if you have more than one night a week with a full schedule, which most people do, then you should plan ahead and leave fast food as your last possible resort. I have a few different things that I do on nights that I have multiple activities. One thing I try is packing myself a dinner (a turkey sandwich, grapes and a granola bar), before the day starts. It only takes about 3-5 minutes of my morning to throw a few things together and put it into a lunch box. Then, if I have 30 minutes between two activities, I already have my dinner made and I don't have to worry about figuring out how to cook something in that short amount of time.
Another great way to avoid fast food is cooking ahead of time. My mom does this often with her spaghetti casserole. She can make it during a free hour in her day and keep it cool in the refrigerator. Then it is available to cook in about 15 minutes around dinner time. It is fast, easy and a healthy alternative to fast food.
Something else that is great for eating healthy is slow cook dishes in a crock pot. You can create anything from sloppy Joes to weenies to chicken tacos. All you have to do is create the dish is the morning and then attend to it later in the day, then it is ready to eat for dinner. This takes a little extra time in the morning, however it saves you time in the evening. Especially if you are in a lot of activities and only have thirty minutes in between two practices, crock pot recipes are always my mom's number one go to.
Lastly, some people don't like to cook healthily because they are too tired or worn out from the day's events. That is very common among teenagers and their parents. It's not something you should be ashamed about but you also shouldn't default to fast food or pizza because of this. It would be much healthier to have something fast and easy such as subs for dinner. All you need is bread, lunch meat and your preferred toppings and then you can eat your subs with fruit. It is simple yet healthy and you will feel much better eating a healthy sub than you would after eating a big mac.
It is understandable that people get caught up in their busy lives and often resort to fast food, but there are other options for dinner. I encourage you to think twice about the next time you are planning on going out and decide if you can find a different alternative instead.

What Running Has Taught Me

Running isn't only great because it keeps you healthy and fit. It has taught me many life lessons over the five years that I have been a runner. They are lessons that aren't specific to running, they can be applied at any time, during anyone's life. Running has helped me through struggles and hard times in my life, because of the lessons that I have learned while doing it.
1. You can't get anywhere without a little bit of hard work. This may seem obvious, but its the truth. I went into my first cross country season not wanting to work hard, but I still wanted to do well. I realized that the amount of effort that I put into running, is the amount of success that I see come out at the meets. Success is my biggest reward.
2. Even when you do your best, you may be disappointed. There would be meets in which I tried my hardest and ran as fast as I could possibly go, but I was still upset with the time that I received. It is only motivation to work harder and do better the next time.
3. You are lapping everyone on the couch. Even if you feel like your having a bad day or if you are feeling down about yourself, you are still doing better than those who don't even try.
4. See the glass half full, not half empty. Don't look at how far you still have to go, look at how far you have come.
5. You are stronger than you think. Stop thinking about yourself as having limits, you are strong and can do anything that you can put your mind to.
6. Train your mind. Your mind is a powerful thing; running is 10% body, 90% mental. You have to not only train your body, but also train your mind.
7. Stay confident. Confident is the key to success, and you are better than you think you are.
8. Set manageable goals. If you continue to meet your small goals along the way, it keeps you motivated and working hard, leading up to even bigger and better goals.
9. If at first you don't succeed, try try again. Never give up on your goals, even if you fail time after time, pick yourself up and keep on moving.
10. Stay positive. There are going to be bad days, the key is to be able to get over them and realize that it was just a bad day. It is always easier to run if you are in the right frame of mind and you have no regrets.

Competitive Sports Too Soon

Children nowadays start competitive sports at a young age, sometimes as young as 3 or 4 years old. How do these children know that they want to do dance or soccer when they are so young? The truth is that they don't. Parents in today's society have the power to choose what sport their child grows up competing in. I think that children start competing when they are too young, they are not old enough to decide what they want to do. I think that they should be able to try a few different sports before they choose one that they want to play competitively. Unfortunately, it can't work this way. If you wait too long to put your child into sports, the other children have already been at this sport for 4 or 5 year, making your child struggle to keep up with the rest of the kids.
Not only are children forced into sports that they may not even like at a young age, but they are also forced to do it competitively. Competitive, year-round sports start about as soon as kids can begin walking. I believe that this pressure is unnecessary and too much for kids. Their days should be spent playing outside and watching TV or reading a book that they enjoy. Not going to 2 hour long practices 3 nights a week.
Long practices also interfere with kids' sleep schedules. Coaches often can't reserve gyms or practice fields until later in the night during the school week, kids therefore don't get home until later and after eating and finishing school work they miss out on valuable hours of sleep.
Lastly, starting kids too young can cause them to get burnt out on the sport that they once loved. My brother, for example, started playing baseball when he was 5 years-old. He loved the sport and started playing it year-round when he was 9 years-old. By the time he made it to high school, he was tired of the pressure and the politics involved with the sport and quit. He loved the sport but he just got burnt out.
However, there are some benefits to getting your kids into sports young. On a team, they can learn how to make new friends and be respectable. They also learn how to be dependable to your team and others as well as learning teamwork and being a good sport, even when they lose. Also, some kids really love the sports that they do their whole childhood. It is great for them to be able to participate in the sport they love for as long as possible.
Still, I believe that kids are rushed into sports too young. They should be able to wait until they have tried different intramural sports or noncompetitive sports before they have to decide what sport they want to continue playing competitively.

Should we be afraid?

According to a CNN article, the Ebola virus has entered the U.S. through Texas. People around the country are concerned that this deadly disease will spread to other parts of the U.S. Personally; I don't think that we should be concerned. As of right now, only two people have gotten this disease. The doctor only got the disease because she was in contact with the Ebola patient for extended periods of time, therefore I don't think that it is much of a threat to the public. However, I do think that we should take certain precautions just to air on the safe side of things.
People with Ebola should continue to be isolated as they have been, and doctors with open cuts or wounds should not be attending the patients. Also, public should not have any contact with Ebola patients. Hospitals should have rooms sanitized and open for Ebola cases and doctors should be properly dressed, in gloves, sanitary suits, and masks. I also think that there should be two doctors attending to each patient, so that there is not a single doctor that has extended contact with the patient like the doctor that contracted the disease from the patient in Texas.
Some people are concerned that the virus that is now transmitted by body fluids, will transform into a virus that can be transmitted through the air. I don't believe that there is a very high chance of this occurring and I think that this is the least of our concerns. I believe that we should be concerned about it possibly spreading due to the fact that the doctor in Texas was not aware that she had it until recently. This means there is a possibility that someone that has come in contact with her could have contracted in. I don't think that we should be alarmed by this because the possibility of that happening is low, but I think that it is important that doctors release information about how we can prepare in case it does start to spread.
I honestly don't think that the two people in the U.S. that have/had Ebola should cause panic. I think that officials have it under control and they are handling the situation well, based on the article, and that while we should be informed, we should not be alarmed. It is not time to worry yet, it is time to be patient and let the doctors and officials handle the virus. All we can do is hope for the best.