7 Days Without Music

   For the past week I have decided not to listen to any music that I can help listening to. Usually I listen to music all day everyday. But I've wanted to to find out if music really affects my moods and my emotions. From walking to class to just recreationally listening in my room, music is a big part of my life. 

     Day 1: My first day is going as bad as I thought it would. My normal morning ruutine is to get up turn my music on and hop in the shower. But today when I rose I had to stop myself from turning on my jams. Let's just say it was a very quite and boring shower. Next it was my bus ride to class. While I'm on the bus I have my earbuds in my ears vibing to the beat of my favorite songs but today was not the case. The wave of voices and conversations on the bus roared in my ears

Day 2: On my walk to work I'm used to blasting my music not giving a care about the world it's just me and my jams. On the day  in particularly my commute to work without music wasn't bad. He scenery I normally take for granted I actually paid attention and realized what I was missing. The sounds of nature and the sight of the changing seasons was beautiful. 

Day3: Today I think that it is really sinking in how much music is  essential to me. At work today I normally power through my tasks vigorously with my music to keep me motivated but today that I am not able to I was moving rather sluggish. I wasn't my happy go lucky self I was cranky and was short with everyone. This is when I knew that music really is apart of my everyday life. 

Day4: In class we had an independent assignment that took up the whole class period. But the only thing that secluded me from everybody else was that I was the only one with out earbuds in my ears. As I looked up at the class there heads were down and there pencils and pens were vastly moving relaying there thoughts to the paper. Me on the other hand I write better when I have music so my ideas where nowhere to be found. Eventually a idea revealed its self in my mind but it took way too long 

Day5: Things are starting to get better. I'm learning how to pass the time of the day without music all the time. While I do homework I used a stress ball that my English teacher gave me during class to help with the distractions while I worked. I'm having much more conversations with the people I see on a day to day basis. I think this explains the low human interaction rate that we are faced with today.

Day6: I realize that I have two more days of this and I'm ready to get back to my normal way of doing things but at the same time I'm not as eager to seclude myself from others again. Today I actually just read in silence and and accomplished a lot. Usually I would have soft music playing and before you know it I'm singing along distracting myself or changing the songs which would put me more and more behind in My readings 

Day7!!!: Today is the last day of my music withdrawal and I have learned a lot throughout this last week. I think I've grown to seeing things in a new light and will make changes to my day to day endeavors 

Reflection : Over this last week I've not listened to music and it has affected me greatly. My moods to the pace I get work done at. Now I know how greatly music is important to me. 🎶 

Blog Entry

My self-experiment is basically two experiments in one. I challenged myself to work out for a week straight. Since the gym is my happy place and my place of remedy it will also help me stay sane and anger free for a week as well.

November 7^th

The first day is always a little rough. I was already stressed out today because today I had a lot of homework and if wasn’t even my busiest day yet. I went into the gym and I did my usual routine. I lifted. did some ab work, climbed stairs, and ran the treadmill. I usually try to do new machines, but I was ready to go. The best day about the first day was that the first day was finally over.

November 8^th

Today was a good day, Election Day is always a good day. I got into the gym and did my routine, but I did a little more arm work today. My friends came today, which was fun. They keep me motivated. I also played a little volleyball today for a part of my workout. I was only in there for about an hour because I wanted to hurry up and take a shower to watch the presidential election.

November 9^th

Today isn’t my day at all. Trump won presidency and of course I am feeling some type of way about this. My last class was actually canceled about of the disruption of the results of the presidential election. I immediately went to the gym after my last class and I had the hardest workout. I had so much pain and anger that I needed to let out. I almost failed my challenge today because I was so mad today, but thankfully I got myself together.

November 10^th

I am still lamenting over the election, so I went to the gym earlier today as well since I get done with my classes earlier today. The gym wasn’t too crowded, so I knew it was going to be a great day in the gym. I tried a new workout that involve a lot of bicycling. Today wasn’t so bad after all.

November 11^th

I am again working out earlier in the day and at night time. I think I do better when I work out earlier because it sets the vibe for the rest of my day. I cannot see anything bad about today. It was Friday and I got a great workout, so everything is all preachy.

November 12^th

I slept in later today due to the volleyball and football game that I wanted to attend, so I worked out late at night and it was still a great workout. I just feel like I have to tell myself that it’s going to be a great work out that way it can be no matter what of day it is. Positivity is most definitely key and I am slowly, but surely figuring that out.

November 13^th

I woke up early today before church and did some ab workouts in my room. I didn’t go to the gym, but still did a workout. I had busy Sunday today with a lot of homework, but I learned a lot about being humble and keep on track with my health and I can do that in and out of the gym.

November 14^th

I am back in the gym and I totally forgot that I am still doing this challenge. I am doing it just to do it now and I am a lot happier. Not only I am working on my health, but my attitude as well are coming together. It is not completely there yet, but it’s on the right path.

November 15^th

I am wrapping up my last journal entry and looking back at a week ago I really needed this push. With finals coming and the stress load increasing doing the activities I love such as working out, helps me get a lot off my mind that way I don’t explode. I am really glad I picked this challenge and even happier that I finished. 

Reflection

On the website Medical Daily it talks about how working out in the morning is better because it sets a great tone for the rest of your day and that is what I did majority of the time. I do think no matter what time a person works out that they should be motivated no matter what and it should change their day around at any part of the day. I picked this challenge because I felt like I was slacking working out and I didn’t want to have the “Freshmen 15” where I would gain 15 pounds. Plus working out helps me stay away for negativity and drama. I have been going through some chaos lately, so this challenge has helped my life in two areas and I am so glad. It was hard because it’s time consuming, but the results were definitely worth it. When you look good, you feel good and I feel more at peace with the world. Also, while I was working out a girl that runs track, I forgot her name, but she told me that staying active and working out helps her get at peace with the world too, so it was nice to hear from a college athlete that she goes through the same adversity that I go through.

A week with No Sugar

Wednesday, Nov. 9

            Sugar is a very big part in college kid’s life. Weather it’s just eating it, drinking it, etc.  A lot of young adults in college use sugar as a way for them to stay awake and function throughout the day.  This leads to a sort of addiction, a need to constantly intake sugar snacks.  I myself am a victim of these sugars and this brings be to the point of my week long experiment.  I will be cutting out sugar from my diet for a week and writing my findings down every night.  Recently, my father became diabetic and I discovered that it runs in my family.  So by doing this experiment, I am benefitting my personal health.  I also hope to explore how it is to eat healthy as a poor college student. 

Thursday, Nov. 10

            Today is the beginning of seven with no sugar.  I woke up feeling normal today of course and was faced with a very busy day so I ended up sadly cheating and having a soda.  This shows that this experiment will indeed be a struggle.  I don’t know what will happen during this experiment but I am hopeful to see positive results in ways of health and mental ability.  I chose this experiment for the fact that I eat a lot of sugars on my day to day schedule and I would like to limit my intake of it.  Hopefully, by the end of this week, I won’t have a craving for sugar and instead I will feel healthier and more active than before.  Possibly, cutting out sugars will improve my sleep and make it so I am less gloomy in the morning. 

            I feel like the biggest challenge will be to eat around my roommates.  Often times they go out to places and invite me to tag along.  Usually we would aim for cheap food because of the lack of change in our pockets.  But, cheap in America often times means unhealthy.  Hopefully I will get a new view point of what it’s like to eat healthy in college during this process. 

Friday, Nov. 11

Today I woke up and went to grab a quick breakfast only to realize there was nothing for me to eat in my room.  Being that I only have 10 meals a week, I would typically grab a granola bar or a pop tart and head off to class but today I just did not eat.  So far this week seems to throw the challenge of figuring out what to eat.  So after classes I went back and went to lunch. There, I got a salad with carrots, cucumbers, corn, and other stuff.  It was tempting to go grab a cup and get a soda as I would typically do when eating at the student dining hall, but instead I just had water out of my water bottle. This was the same process with dinner, except I had protein with my salad.

So far I do not feel any different with my sleep schedule.  I woke up as my drowsy self and dragged myself to my classes.  I am still faced with the challenge of not walking to my rooms kitchen and eating all the sweets it has to offer.  Instead, I stand there and a pout whilst looking at them. 

Saturday, Nov. 12

            Day three with no sugar and I am still going strong.  The main difference about today is the fact that I feel a lack of energy.  This I assume is from the withdrawal of sweets that my body craves.  Online I read that one can drink water in substitution to snacking and I am trying that technique to staying away from sweets.  So far, the hardest thing has been the temptations.  You turn the corner and they offer you a pastry or a piece of candy.  It’s funny how they never offer teenagers healthy snacks.  For example, on wescoe beach, there are never people selling fruit or “Good for you” food.  It’s always a doughnut or a cookie.  Eating healthy has opened my eyes to this obsession that teenagers have with unhealthy food.

Today I went home and asked my mom to make a healthy dish and she was shocked.  After telling her about this project, she explained to me the tricks to cutting sugar out of your diet (as she did last year).  I think the biggest step is to cut out the soda.  Young Americans are addicted to soda. When you don’t drink it for a while as I have been doing, you end up noticing the fact that you have a craving for it.  Being at home as shown to be easier in terms of eating because I am around my health freak mom. 

Sunday, Nov 13

Today I feel even more tired than yesterday.  This might be for the fact I am cutting out sugar but might also be for the fact that I was up late last night.  When I got back to KU, I went to the studio and got a turkey wrap. It came with a soft drink but I had to decline it of course.  Essentially, today I just studied and slept.  Really did not do anything.  My study habits were the exact same, I didn’t have more motivation to do anything more.  But, I can say I don’t really crave a sugary snack!

Monday, Nov 14

Monday is always the worst part of the week. It’s the day of getting back into your schedule and having a lot of homework.  This is typically a day someone would promote the freshman 15 by stress eating because of tests.  Another typical college method is late night study sessions with monster energy drinks.  Did you know that every dorm on the hill offers a monster energy drink machine to its residents?  This backs up the fact that our buildings do not support healthy eating.

After classes I went to The dining hall with my friends.  There, I had a sugar free meal and water to drink.  After that I did my homework and went to bed.

Tuesday, Nov 15

Today my roommates went to hot box and brought cookies back to the room.  I told them they were evil and I almost cheated and had one.  Something I’ve noticed in relation to drinking a lot more water is the fact that I’ve had healthier skin since then.  This might also have to do with the fact that I cut out sugar from my diet.  Most likely it’s a combination of both.  I still really want a cookie and I can’t wait till this projects done and I can pig out on sweets. 

Wednesday, Nov 16

Being the last day of my week with no sugar, I went to the store and bought a lot of candy for tomorrow.  At the beginning I wanted to think by the time this experiment was over I’d be done with sweets, but that I think is not the case.  Though this was the first type of cleanse/diet I’ve ever been on, I do believe it takes more time and dedication to cut out something as big as sugar from your diet.  Throughout the days I’ve found that it was hard to blog about this everyday do to the fact that It was so repetitive and uneventful.  Yes, the challenge was hard, but I wouldn’t say it was interesting.  Overall I can’t wait for tomorrow when I can eat candy. 

Thursday, Nov 16

            The week of no sugar has ended and I cannot be happier.  This was a challenging week and I do not intend on going through this process again.  Many times I found myself craving foods and feeling helpless because of the fact that I couldn’t have them.  I cheated on the first day because of this.  After a while the process got easier and I ended up realizing the lack of healthy options there are to college students.  There should be places a college kid can go and get good, non sugary food for a good price. 

           Along the way, I found certain websites helpful such as:  http://www.ditchthecarbs.com/2014/10/29/healthy-sugar-free-snacks/

These show you healthy options to snacking.

            I believe that the freshman 15 myth is true for the amount of bad foods college freshman consume.  Yes, I myself am guilty of eating this way but the past week has opened my eyes to how big sugar is in our daily lives.  For now on when I see someone that’s diabetic for say, I will have a new found understanding of what they go through in their lives.  Almost everything has sugars and it probably is very difficult to live a life where you constantly have to watch what you eat. 

            Over time I can see how things would eventually get easier for someone who can’t have sugar or simply is cutting it out.  But the hardest struggle these people go through is figuring out what they can eat. 

            I feel like overall I learned a lot in this past week.  Maybe I will do another week without something for you find that this process truly teaches you a lesson and shows you what your life could be like under circumstances.  Lastly, I would like to mention that I am still paying attention to my sugar intake.  After doing a week without is, I’ve discovered that there are other drinks/snacks to consume that aren’t as sugary as the ones I have been consuming.

No Social Media for One Week

Mitch Grosserode

No Social Media for One Week

First Journal Entry- I am nervous for this experiment and have many questions to myself

before I complete it. Why is this something I want to do when there is probably something a lot

easier I could do? How am I going to feel after a week of not looking at social media? This is

going to be very interesting, but difficult at the same time. The steps I am going to try and do is

to first try not to think about it the entire day. I know this probably will not happen, but it is good

to have a good mindset going in. I will also try to keep my phone in my pocket or away from my

sight as much as possible. I will turn my phone ringer on high when I am not in class, so if

somebody really needs to get ahold of me they can. I will also try to not worry about people on

the internet, but rather interact face-to-face with people around me.

November 7, 2016 (Day 1)- The first day of the experiment was very hard for me to not look at

social media. When I wake up in the morning that is one of the first things that I do. I have a

tendency to always want to know what other people are doing. When I am bored I look at social

media because it gives me something to do.

November 8, 2016 (Day 2)- Today was election day in the United States. This was the hardest

out of the entire week not to look at social media. I wanted to see all of the people’s reactions on

twitter, but I had to hold myself back. I watched the election on television and tried to not look at

my phone because I knew I would be tempted. I survived the entire night without looking at

social media once.

November 9, 2016 (Day 3)- This was the day I became depressed and bored. It was the day after

the election and I still wanted to look at everybody’s opinion on the outcome. I took a nap and it

was hard for me to fall asleep because of this experiment. I did not think I would feel this way at

all. It is crazy how your body and mind can be thrown so off track from not looking at social

media.

November 10, 2016 (Day 4)- Today I told myself to grow up and that I do not need this in my

life. I decided it was mind over matter and I had to follow through with this experiment. This

really seemed to help me and I was not worried about it as much. I was able to focus on my

schoolwork more and be less distracted. I had a huge test the next day and it went really well.

This is most likely from not looking at my phone while studying. This is the first day that not

looking at social media really helped me out a lot.

November 11, 2016 (Day 5)- It is a beautiful Friday and I now know that social media is no big

deal at all. I was able to have better interaction with people today because I was not looking at

my phone as much. This is what our generation really struggles with and rightfully so. It was

way easier to not be tempted to look because my mind was not focused on that specific matter.

November 12, 2016 (Day 6)- I had no urge to look at social media at any point of the day. It now

blows my mind that I spent that much time looking at that throughout the day. I am able to do

way more in a day from not spending my time on that task. The truth is that I am glad only one

more day is left though.

November 13, 2016 (Day 7)- Today is the last day of the week long experiment. I am thinking

about deleting the apps from my phone because there is really no use for them. Once again, I was

able to have more interaction with the people around me. This is something that I really liked. I

did not even think about looking at social media the entire day.

Journal Entry Summary- Overall, I learned a lot throughout this experiment. It was hard at the

beginning, but very rewarding at the end. I learned that practicing something like this for just one

week can make a world of difference. By the end I could have cared less what pictures people

were posting on twitter or Instagram. We are all just so technologically advanced that we think

we need social media is our everyday lives, but we truly do not. I also learned that not doing

something for a week can hard on your mind and body. There was a time during the week that I

was depressed and could not sleep. That was the craziest part of the entire experiment. The last

three days were easy for me, while the first four days were very difficult. I chose the right

experiment for myself and found out that social media is not that great after all.