Day 1: Let the Living Deliberately Begin!

My sustainable living experiment begins! Although it is just day 1, I can tell that following through with all the different aspects of the experiment will be difficult. I will not lie and say I did everything I was supposed to do today, because that is not the point of an experiment. The point is to see what works, what doesn’t work, and what needs improvement. So let me break down my Tuesday for you:

Transportation:

I am disappointed to say that I did not walk to the metro as I had decided that I would do. I was running late today and didn’t have time to walk instead of taking the shuttle bus. Excuses, excuses, I know. I am definitely not proud of being unable to follow through with the transportation aspect of the experiment. I knew right from the start of this experiment that this would be one of the most difficult parts and I was right. I am really going to have to work towards not using the shuttle bus.

Food:

The continuation of my vegetarianism has been going great. No bumps in the road so far. Just this weekend I even bought some more breakfast options, such as oatmeal and healthy cereal, to start eating a healthier (and vegetarian!) diet. Also, for lunch today I actually participated in Taco Tuesday. I have been avoiding Taco Tuesday since I started being vegetarian because I just couldn’t see myself eating a taco without meat. However, today I filled my taco with beans instead of meat and surprisingly enough, my taco still tasted just as delicious as I remember it tasting when it had meat in it! Participating in Taco Tuesday without using meat really made me think about the value we put on meat to “complete” our meals. Is it really necessary to have meat on our plate in order to have a satisfying lunch or dinner? I’m beginning to realize that meat is not always necessary for a meal to be delicious.

Consumerism:

Aside from buying the oatmeal and cereal for my breakfast I have not purchased anything at all this week! I am planning on avoiding CVS (my weak point for spending money) for this entire experiment. This way I cannot be tempted to buy anything that I do not need. Also, today I didn’t even spend money on food for dinner. I went to a free dinner event for Professional Women’s Association. Hooray for free food and lack of consumerism! Although I realize the importance of consumerism for powering an economy, for the purposes of my experimentation, I am happy with my choice to not spend any money. My bank account will surely thank me.

Technology:

Sadly, I must report that I went on Facebook three times today and I cannot even count how many times I went on Twitter. Although this isn’t what I wanted to accomplish for this experiment, three times is better than going on every time I turn on my computer. I take this as an improvement and a step forward but there is definitely room for improvement! Why do Facebook and Twitter have to be so addicting? It is almost as if Facebook has become essential to my life. I seemingly cannot go one day without it.

Positive Impact/Political Action:

Instead of staying for the usual two hours of volunteering at Martha’s Table, a low-income DC school that Jumpstart works with, I stayed for an extra half hour.  In this half hour I was able to read about three or four books to some of the children. If I was not there, they certainly would not have been read to that day. I feel like staying longer really let me get more involved with the children as opposed to just leaving at my regular time.

Health & Happiness:

Today, my friend and I went for a walk for about 45 minutes. We explored some of the nicer neighborhoods near campus and allowed ourselves to get a bit lost amongst the mansion-style houses. We were able to really talk to one another about anything and everything without the distractions of Facebook, YouTube, or even cell phones. This kind of relaxed conversation mixed with a long walk is what I feel like I need more of in my life. My friend and I had very intellectual conversations about our futures after college, our families, Easter, and even the difficult subject of money and happiness. We talked about what is going on in our lives that we find stressful and what we could do to help us de-stress. Truth is, that walk was the perfect de-stressor for me. Mission accomplished for the health and happiness aspect of this experiment!

I'd say, overall, a great start to my week of experimentation! Stay tuned to hear more about it later!