through the third

 day 3: what good habit do you want to begin this month?

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      My boyfriend told me he wanted to quit drinking soda for November. Where I'm from we call it pop. "Soda" sounds like an anachronism to me.

      "Jim-Bob, let's mosey down to the sock hop and get a soda for a nickel from Old Man River." I can't stand it. Alas, I told him I would join him for moral support. He objected. I doubled-down. Now we're both Sprite-free for 30 days. He says this is for his health, which I'm only slightly confused about considering we just ate Chick-fil-A two nights in a row. I'm not sure this strategy is going to lower anyone's cholesterol and it damn sure isn't keeping us in a caloric deficit. I'm still here for it.

      The irony is I just purged myself last month, though I wasn't too stringent widdit. I felt myself absorbed in an Instagram tornado of glamorous aesthetics, comparison spiraling, Explore page rabbit-holing, and life documenting to a degree I found absurd and unsustainable. I kept the app to supply my meme collection that I send to my mans but I didn't consistently post on my Story like I've been doing daily for the last seven months. That shit got exhausting yet I was unable to refrain unless a dramatic step was taken. It always has to be dramatic with me. So I took a step back to get back in touch with my reality; as turbulent and great and erratic as it can be, somehow even that was a reprieve from the superficiality of social media. Can you imagine?

      Aside from the pop challenge and the IG retreat, I intend to focus for November. I start a new job on the 14th that requires a discipline and commitment I haven't applied in a minute. I'm at the end of an intense semester of college anatomy and physiology. I help take care of my rambunctious, 6-year-old niece. I have a dog of my own, a house to maintain, a boyfriend to love, and a soul to nourish. I recently read multi-tasking is incredibly inefficient and it is best to give one thing your full attention instead of spreading yourself thin. I'm eager to try this because trying to juggle all the things at one time has repeatedly ended up with everything on the ground and tears stuck in my throat out of frustration. My mom always stresses, "Nothing changes if nothing changes."

¯\_(ツ)_/¯