Two runs in preparation for the Brooklyn Half Marathon + my favorite part of the week, a Mother’s Day Hike!

• Evening Run - Jim D's 5.8 mi run
• Morning Hike - Jim D's 3.6 mi hike
• Evening Run - Jim D's 2.2 mi run

Reading of the Week:

• The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success: A Pocketbook Guide to Fulfilling Your Dreams
• Sensitive: The Hidden Power of the Highly Sensitive Person

Quote of the Week:

In detachment lies the wisdom of uncertainty…in the wisdom of uncertainty lies the freedom from our past, from the known, which is the prison of past conditioning. And in our willingness to step into the unknown, the field of all possibilities, we surrender ourselves to the creative mind that orchestrates the dance of the universe.
-Deepak Chopra

Song of the Week:

• Evening Run - Jim D's 11.0 mi run
• Morning Run - Jim D's 7.2 mi run

Reading of the Week:

• Take the Cannoli- probably my least favorite read of the year, this didn’t really have a plot and didn’t resonate with me. Very forgettable.
• The Club- conversely, this has been one of my favorite reads of the year! A riveting read about the Premier League and the history of how the league became such a powerhouse!

Song of the Week:

Not normally the biggest country fan, but this stumbled across this song while playing Catan with friends and it has been on repeat since then!

Quote of the Week: In football, the worst things are excuses. Excuses mean you cannot grow or move forward.
- Pep Guardiola

Class #2 (1/12): Not every class has to end in me drowning in my own sweat in order to improve and learn something; this was an easier class than the previous, but I felt like my technique was more controlled and improved.

Class #3 (1/15): A small class means I will be under the microscope that much more, and will not be able to hide any mistakes; however, an extremely high number of reps lead to leaving class feeling extremely improved (and sore).

Class #4 (1/19): For the first time….I was not the worst in the class! However, I enjoyed rolling with those better than me more than those worse than me for safety, learning, and challenge aspects. Validates my mindset of challenging myself to be the worst in the room forcing me to adapt and grow in a fun way.

Class #5 (1/24): Lesson of the day is that buying in bulk is cheaper! Have realized that I’m enjoying this so much that I decided to get a monthly membership (2 classes/week). Also, normally being the smaller of the 2 when rolling with a partner, today I rolled with someone smaller which presents different challenges and learning experiences!

Class #6 (1/26): Today I rolled with someone who was a great character, and made it fun, and seemed like a very cool dude. However, I honestly prefer rolling with the stone-faced ninjas that I have been going against…it challenges me more and puts me in more uncomfortable situations! Side-note, feeling super energized and enjoying learning the sport.

Class #7 (1/29): After having completed a long run yesterday, my hips and legs were feeling especially week in today’s class, which lead to me getting submitted much easier than normal on a few occasions. I will either have to plan my runs around BJJ class, or run the risk of getting tapped on repeat.

Class #8 (2/2): When rolling with someone, its important to wear deodorant, especially when its going to be a sweaty session!

Class #9 (2/5): Mastering a single move can be more fun than getting a basic knowledge of multiple moves. Almost every session we have worked on mastering a single move (X-Leg Guard) which has been fun, however at times I have wanted to learn more submissions and escapes. However today it really clicked that mastering this and building off of it is truly a better way to be able to compete.

Class #10 (2/16): After having missed a few days of sessions, I got my butt kicked frequently today. Also, a person who had their first class during my 6th class was present, and it was great to see his growth; I hope that others see myself as having made similar leaps and bounds in my skillset.

Class #11 (2/19): Today’s class went 15 minutes past the scheduled end time; that last 15 minutes was exponentially more draining and difficult than the first 60. However it was very rewarding and I had a really good time!

Class #12 (2/23): Today I got a desire to take this sport a degree more serious and really up my level; unsure what that looks like. More classes would be an easy way to start, but I realized that I want to accelerate my growth a tiny bit!

Class #13 (2/26): Had a great roll with someone who is right about my level today, and I realized that I had been adjusting to the habits of my normal rolling partner to take advantage of his weaknesses, which were the strengths of my partner today. Change can be good, and it kept me on my toes today (and got my submitted with a really nice guillotine!).

Class #14 (3/1): Today’s class combined a lot of the concepts that we have learned over the past month and a half! To see single-leg-X guard come back into play was wonderful! Also I am getting noticeably less exhausted after sparring, which should be a sign of my body learning to better use its energy during these sessions.

Class #15 (3/4): Rolling with someone who is exhausted is not very much fun; while I enjoyed being able to bounce back quicker and being fresher to spar with my partner, in general we had a session with less reps + intensity. That being said, I liked my partner as a person, and we had a good discussion about technology after the class!

Class #16 (3/8): The content of this session was a lot of fun, with multiple submission types being covered! However, my rolling partner had a weak shoulder and so I could not properly submit him on a few different techniques, and he also is pretty new and doesn’t understand the moves or want to experiment without clear direction. Often the ‘fun’ level of a session is determined not by the content, but by the sparring/technique partner.

Class #17 (3/29): This was my first class back since running my half-marathon two weeks ago. While I was quick to pick up some techniques, I got totally and fully submitted infinite times today. Back to the drawing board on Monday.

Class 18 (4/1): In this class we learned how to escape many of the back moves that we have been learning in the past few weeks. In the sparring at the end I had a lot of success escaping, not a lot of success submitting…..maybe for the best to be a better defensive fighter!

Class 19 (4/5): This was a fun class! Learning new back escapes is a fun way to really get some reps on the ground rolling. I had one play in particular where I feinted my opponent by going for one escape and then going for a totally different one which worked. Also an exhausting class, as I have a few bumps and bruises from it.

Class 20 (4/15): A small class today with only 3 other students; of those 3, one was a brown belt, and the other two were about 50 pounds heavier than me. Needless to say, this was a punishing class. The brown belt and I rolled for the class, and I got some excellent tips out of him. One funny moment was him saying ‘Jim, not trying to be a d*ck but let me get the technique’ to which I replied, ‘It’s fine, be a d*ck about it’ and made my partner laugh pretty hard (right before putting me in a nasty armbar).

Evening Run - Jim D's 9.0 mi run

On Thursday and Friday, I caught up on some new shows, in addition to getting ahead on some weekly errands. Fallout was my show of choice, which is a dark comedy on a post-nuclear warfare America. Additionally, I made some delicious steak tacos on Friday, which was an awesome change-up to my normal kitchen routine.

Saturday started off with a lot of the usual activities; curating the perfect cup of coffee, catching up with some friends on the phone, and prepping for an afternoon soccer game. This week was playoffs, and our team came from 2–0 down to clinch a spot in the semi-final with a 3–2 win! 1 assist for myself in a game that I honestly should have scored a few. A coffee and chat with a friend afterwards helped to energize the rest of my afternoon, which involved reading and a bit of planning for the next few weeks of activities.

Saturday evening kept the activities going, as I met some college friends at Radegast Hall & Biergarten in Williamsburg, which involved some steins, a local trumpet group, and some good laughs with friends I hadn’t seen in a little bit.

On Sunday my friend ran a the REAL Simple Women’s Half-Marathon in Central park and crushed it! I made it out to the park and saw her at mile 5, 9, and 13. Afterwards, a well deserved (for her) brunch was a lot of fun, and I stayed out with another friend and got some coffee (Cafe Lyria) and did some shopping.

The rest of my Sunday was spent relaxing and preparing for the week!

Weekly Reading List: This week I read The Buddhist and the Ethicist by Peter Singer and Shih Chao-Hwei. The two powerhouses talk about their moral compasses, Utilitarianism and Buddhism respectively, and some of the similarities and differences between them. While I don’t see myself falling into either camp, exploring the thought processes of others, especially those that think so differently is a fun exercise.

There were some intense topics in this book, which brought some moral questions to my mind which were previously not things that I had thought on. I would recommend this book, but definitely would preface that it requires a lot of focus to read and understand, and would be a candidate to reread at another time if/when some of the topics in it become more relevant.

Song Recommendation of the Week:

My favorite song from Taylor’s new album! What a creative way to roast one of the most famous people on the planet.

Quote of the Week: Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.
-Buddha

Monday: One of the tamer days this week, I focused on being productive at work, mapping out the remainder of my week, and cleaning my apartment a bit. Additionally went to a jiu jitsu class and got a great workout in.

Tuesday: The other chill day of the week (I promise, the activities come later!), which was filled by a lot of the same activities as Monday.

Wednesday: My company put together a happy hour in honor of people getting promoted this year, which was an awesome excuse to leave the office a bit early and catchup with coworkers about things other than work! Additionally those who were promoted received a very nice bottle of whiskey and letter from our executive team!

Thursday: Some of my closest friends and I spent the evening together for an early-birthday dinner! Our itinerary involved meeting at Pete’s Tavern, dinner at Union Square Cafe, and a nightcap at Dear Irving. Dinner was incredible, with this being possibly my favorite meal in NYC. The only thing topping the food was the quality of the people at the dinner, with my friends and I having incredible conversation and laughs!

Friday: On Friday, I decided to not use PTO and to work on my birthday. This comes with pros and cons. The cons are that you are not able to have the entire day to do birthday activities; however the pros are that people tend to be a bit more friendly and willing to let you log off early on your birthday!

After closing the laptop at 5:01, I met a friend for a make your own pasta class, which was so much fun! The pasta was Tagliatelle al Pesto, which was delicious, fun to make, and a memorable time. A Chianti Classico was the wine pairing of choice, which brings back fond memories of vineyards in Italy last October!

After dinner, my friend and I enjoyed some cupcakes that they brought, and then grabbed a nightcap with another friend at Good Behavior rooftop! A wonderful birthday, which also was relatively tame and an early evening.

Saturday: This was a long day, which was jam-packed with activities. In the morning, some friends from my hometown met me for breakfast, and then decided to stick around for the day! We headed to my double-header soccer game, for which the weather was outstanding. After a close 1–0 in the first game, we won 5–2 in the second! To celebrate the team went to grab some beers after, which was super refreshing after the hot weather. This carried on for a bit, after which my friends and I grabbed some burgers and caught up at my apartment.

Sunday: On Sunday my morning started off with an 8 am 4 mile run in Central Park, which was race number 5 of my 9+1 campaign. I felt good, with fantastic weather and not too crowded of a corral being the highlights. While I didn’t push the race to my absolute limit, I was super happy with my time (28:51).

After the run, I hopped on a train to Hoboken, and watched Manchester United win in penalties, Liverpool win in the Premier League, Leverkusen score a last second equalizer, and Barcelona get their title hopes stolen by Real Madrid; what a day of soccer!

Playing some Settlers of Catan, ordering tasty pizza, and listening to the Internet-breaking Taylor Swift album filled the rest of my Sunday. By the time I got home that evening, I was ready to sleep for multiple days straight!

RBC Race for the Kids 4M - Jim D's 4.0 mi run

Weekly Reading List:

This week’s read is Attached, by Amir Levine. I love this type of book because it has the power to change a person’s perspective on how they treat themselves, others, and life in general. I cannot rate it highly enough, and hope to implement some of the lessons learned into my own life! Being vague on purpose to not spoil any of the lessons learned!

Song Recommendation of the Week:

A supergroup of modern music, L(abyrinth), S(ia), D(iplo) have achieved a song that successfully scratches my brain in a different way depending on the mood that I am in. Sometimes it makes me want to dance, other times it makes me want to go on a run, and other times still it makes me want to just be outside enjoying the weather. This remix only enhances that, and it has been one of my go-to’s when jumping on the aux.

Quote of the Week:
Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.
-Winston Churchill
As someone who likes to look on the positive, and inspire others with the energy that I bring to my endeavors, this is an outstanding quote.

On Monday and Wednesday, I travelled to Hoboken for some soccer games, where our team won and drew games. Despite the bit of travel, playing soccer in Hoboken is worth it due to the teammates and memories in that town. After Monday’s game, a few of us watched Uconn win the NCAA Basketball Championship. I had them as winners in my bracket, but so did 14 others in my group and I lost on points (would have been a 2x champ).

The weather on Tuesday was perfection, which inspired me to go on a run (see below); conversely the weather on Thursday was miserable and inspired me to clean my apartment (no evidence as I have for the run, but take my word for it). Lots of reading and working filled both of these days as well.

On Friday evening, my roomate and I watched the movie Iron Claw with Zac Efron and Jeremy Allen White. The first half of the film had us laughing, cheering, and in a great mood; the second half took a dark turn, and continued getting darker until the final scene. That being said, this was a fantastic watch, and Efron was unbelievable in it. Would definitely recommend, just come prepared, which we did not!

Saturday started off with an Endorphins running club 8 miler, then Popup bagels with a friend who ran with me, and a few who met us after! One thing that I enjoy is having a favorite coffee/breakfast spot for after specific activities. After Endorphins its Popup bagels, after soccer its Roasting Plant, etc….seems silly to ever go to a place twice, but the consistency of the company and the food/coffee is worth it! After some relaxing, met some friends for pool and shuffle board at Cellar Dog in the West Village. A few games later and we found ourselves at L’Industrie Pizza, which was fantastic!

Sunday has been PERFECT weather, with NYC seeing 73 degrees. Lots of walking, some errands, a bit of shopping, and hanging outside in the park filled my afternoon. At night the local band I support, Mouthy Baby, played at a bar near my apartment, so I found myself there for most of their set. As I type this, Sunday is quickly ending, and the new week begins. Will be posting an article about my last week as a 26 year old, with my birthday being on Friday!

Weekly Reading List:
This week I started and finished the Hunger Games prequel book The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. I read the original Hunger Games series back in high school, and while it was one of the darker series that I have read, I enjoyed it even before the motion pictures were made. The prequel was in a similar style, with some haunting moments and really interesting internal dialogues. However, the ending was incredibly rushed, which was annoying, given some of the storylines that were built up (would it be that terrible to write a sequel??).

My next book is Attached, which is a bit of a psychologyical read on attachments and how it can influence one’s life. Only 2 chapters in and already have found it extremely resonating.

Runs This Week:

• Evening Run - Jim D's 4.8 mi run
• Morning Run - Jim D's 8.0 mi run

Song Recommendation of the Week:

A beautiful song that I found this past week and have been shamelessly listening to at full volume many times since then.

Quote of the Week:
I believe in hard work and luck, and that the first often leads to the second.
-JK Rowling
When workdays are long, it is nice to have luck on your side, however luck truly is often self-made.

On Friday, a welcome end to the workweek kicked off with my normal Brazilian Jiu Jitsu class. After this I had a dinner with friends at Grotta Azzurra in Little Italy, which was a proper Italian restaurant. Delicious pasta, a really surprising beer selection, and awesome conversation with my former coworkers turned friends were my favorite parts of the evening. However, the craziest part about Friday was experiencing the earthquake in NYC during the morning hours, which happened during a work call for me. The experience was truly like nothing else, and to be totally honest I wasn’t sure what was going to happen from it, as my 4th floor walkup apartment was swaying; that being said, it hopefully does not lead to a chain of more earthquakes in NYC.

Saturday morning was my time this week to clean, do some reading, and catch up on the news around the world, a lot of which was not super positive. In the afternoon my soccer team had a game which we won 3–1. Perfect weather, a great showing personally, and a quick beer and coffee after the game made this a perfect afternoon! After that I went home and changed up before heading to Hoboken to watch some March Madness games. After a Purdue win, myself and a friend headed to NYC to watch Uconn also win their game (woo!!). A party in Hudson Yards was the viewing location; in addition to March Madness, we played some games and got some party favors to complete a fun evening.

Sunday started with a 4 Mile run in Central Park for NYRR, which I admittedly ran very slow and didn’t feel great for. However it was nice to be outside, burn off some calories, get credit for the 9+1, and earn my Sunday on the couch. After the run I watched Manchester United earn a point against Liverpool in the Premier League and South Carolina win NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship! A long walk to end the day, and before I knew it Monday had arrived!

Weekly Reading List:
This week I read the memoir Everything I Know about Love by Dolly Alderton. Dolly is a British author who details her life from late teenage years through turning 30. At first I was not a huge fan of the book because I couldn’t relate to some of her problems, but by the end I realized her and I had a lot of shared experiences and life altering events. Without including spoilers, her relationships with friends and romantic partners reminded me a lot of the way that my life has gone to this point.

Additionally I reread the book Who Moved My Cheese? this past week. It is a quick read (2 hours at most), which I have often read during times of great change in my life. The catalyst for reading it was that I was giving a copy to someone in my life who also is going through a lot of change; while reading it this time I found myself thinking of ways it related to their life…this is one of the benefits of sharing books that I enjoy. It almost allows me to get a third perspective (first being my own, second being the author’s) when reading something!

Song Recommendation of the Week:

Big Italy vibes with this jam, as I can feel the summer approaching!

Quote of the Week:
And so being young
and dipped in folly
I fell in love
with melancholy.
-Edgar Allen Poe
Have been finding joy in reading books about youth and aging, as my birthday rapidly approaches and I will officially be unable to say anything other than ‘late twenties’.

On the weekend (including Friday) I had a packed schedule.

Friday:

• Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
• Met a friend in the West Village for March Madness games

Saturday:

• Endorphins Run (8 miles)
• Popup Bagels
• Brunch in Jersey City
• Dinner @ Rosemary’s East

Sunday:

• Travel to NJ for Easter Sunday
• Watch my March Madness hopes crumble

Morning Run - Jim D's 8.0 mi run

One other thing that I would like to callout is for anyone who has been patiently waiting another technology related post from me. While I have been writing some longer term pieces, right now I do not have any articles to post. I am hopeful that the quality of my next posts will make the wait worth it, but there are just no topics that I want to spend a week on and then post about. Stay tuned for more updates on this front!

Weekly Reading List:

Rather than picking up another book, I decided to mix things up and go with an audiobook for my 11th book of the year. I went with the quick listen How to Talk to Anyone, by Leil Lowndes. This book had some interesting points about charisma, conversations, and ability to charm people, but honestly listening made it a bit challenging to absorb some of the lessons. For my next read I am reading the NY Times Bestseller Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton; this story follows the author in her adult life growing up in London.

Song Recommendation of the Week: Fallingwater by Maggie Rogers.

Have been listening to a lot of Maggie lately for no particular reason; highly recommend going through her albums one at a time.

Quote of the Week: Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.
-Michael Jordan
In the spirit of March Madness, a MJ quote is needed, with this one being easily applicable to sports, work, and life.

On the weekend, I had some good dinners with friends, enjoyed the March Madness games all day on Saturday, and played some soccer in Brooklyn on Sunday. Outside of that, it was a mental and physical break from my normally jam packed routine.

Weekly Reading List: This week I read The Wager by David Grann, which is a self-proclaimed tale of shipwreck, mutiny, and murder. The book takes place in on an early 18th century expedition of a British fleet sailing around the world. While this was not my favorite book I have read this year, it made me extra thankful to not be sailor in that day and age. The conditions on the boat were some of the most terrifying things I have ever read, as well as the circumstances in which the sailors had to survive.

Struggling to find another book to pick up; there are a few long reads that I have (Elon Musk, Get Big Fast) on my list, however I would love to find a shorter read in the Sally Rooney style to hold me over until then. Stay tuned to see what I decide to pickup!

Song Recommendation of the Week: Ojitos Lindos, Bad Bunny, Bomba Estereo
While I don’t understand all of the words in their entirety, this song always makes me think of my time in Spain. Definitely missing the freedom and sense of adventure that I had there, and had this song on repeat for a few days to try to get that back!

Quote of the Week: Desperation can also breed unity.
- David Grann, The Wager

This quote was from the book that I finished this past week, which was full of such happy quotes! It resonated with me mainly because I tend to disagree with the quote slightly. In my experience, there are times that desperation can strengthen a team, however in today’s society, it often leads to team members looking for an exit if its readily available. This can be in sports, work, relationships, etc, but with so many ‘options’ at the fingertips of desperate team members, it is tough to build unity with the team shrinking. On The Wager this was not an option, as the only way through was together!

In preparation for this race, my Saturday dinner consisted of loads of pasta, some fruit, and a bit of protein in the shape of a bit of salmon. Additionally, I must have drank about a 3 gallons of water throughout the day, as well as a Gatorade, some tea, and a single coffee in the morning. Despite laying down at around 10pm, the combination of pre-race nerves and loud shenanigans in the East Village (St Patrick’s Day weekend) outside my apartment, I realistically got only 5 hours of sleep.

Pre-Race:

On Sunday morning, I was awoken by the blaring of my alarm at 4:50 AM. I consumed a quick breakfast of:

• 1 scrambled egg.
• 1 banana.
• 1 coffee.

And took to go:

• 1 bagel with peanut butter on it.
• 1 protein bar.
• 1 coffee (fully aware it is too much caffeine for before 6 AM).
• 1 Gu (for the run).

And headed on my way via the subway. Despite planning on sitting in silence, my coed volleyball friend was on the same train as me, along with hundreds of other Wave1 runners! Upon exiting the subway at Prospect Park, I dropped off my bag at the bag-drop, and hustled to my corral. Again, planning on waiting alone, another friend of mine was in the exact same wave and corral as me, which made the hour wait less stressful!

While waiting, I stretched, sent some final texts, took a few pictures, and ate the last of my snacks. The wheelchair + pro waves started with a national anthem, I shed my throwaway hoodie, and then before I knew it my race started right at 7:30; hit play on my music (Diplo’s Club Space Mix), and we were on our way!

Race:

The race itself was an incredible experience, with the different sections feeling like entirely different races at times! As these races normally go, the first mile was rather slow and crowded, with all runners getting their bearings. From there, some hills in Prospect Park let me start to bob-and-weave to get some momentum and stretch the legs out. To finish out the Brooklyn leg, we ran down Flatbush Ave past Barclays Center and lots of fans (at 8am!!) cheering the runners on. From there, we headed onto the Manhattan Bridge, where at this point I was feeling the runner’s high and enjoying the run.

On the Manhattan Bridge, the road was relatively narrow, which made passing difficult. However, this was not a problem as I was with the pace team at this point running at a 7:37 minute/mile pace; this is a faster pace than my first half-marathon, so I was pleasantly surprised to be comfortable at this pace. Once the uphill on the bridge became a downhill, I decided to push it a bit and accelerated past the pace team to find my own pace.

Once off the bridge, we entered Chinatown, which was marked by lots of Chinese New Year style dragon wielding fans. Waiting for the next water stop, I inhaled my Gu, which immediately revitalized me and gave me a much needed energy boost (again, fully aware it was too much caffeine). At this point I was starting to feel the weight of my body after some hills and 6 miles of running.

The next few miles were on the FDR highway, which was hilly, quiet, and mentally draining. Thankfully at miles 8 and 9, I had some friends cheering me on and waiting for a hi-5. At this point I needed the morale boost, and started to really hit the gas as I turned onto Broadway for the final 5k.

Running up Broadway was basically one big uphill run, where I got my final gatorade and started to hit the gas. My body started screaming at me to stop, but by this point I was willing to hit snooze on my pain receptors. Time Square is only closed 2 times/year….this was one of those occasions, and running through it was surreal. By this point there was a constant crowd on either side of the run, which made it easy to keep powering through!

Right at the corner of Central Park I had multiple groups waiting to cheer me on, which was the boost I needed to kick it to overdrive for the final mile. While I didn’t feel like I was dying the past mile, I definitely was in some pain and was glad when the finish line was in front of me. With a final time of 1:38:07, it was a pleasant surprise to see that I had broken my personal record!

United Airlines Half - Jim D's 13.1 mi run

Post-Race:

After the 14th mile, I stumbled towards Columbus Circle to meet up with the gaggle of friends and family who came to show support. Seeing them was the best part of my day, and I feel really lucky to have such awesome folks care enough to make it out to see me! After a bit of catching up and taking it in by Columbus Circle, we headed downtown towards the East Village to find a spot to celebrate. 11th St Bar was our landing spot, which was perfect due to:

• An outdoor section with lots of seats.
• Proper Irish beverages (a St. Patrick’s Day necessity) such as Guinness, Magner’s, Smithwick’s.
• Showing of the Liverpool/Manchester United game (What. A. Game.).
• Proximity to my apartment where I could shower and return quickly.

One of the fun parts about a post-run celebration is the feeling of having earned some unhealthy food and a few beers, both of which were definitely consumed by myself on Sunday. After the group at 11th St Bar dispersed, I headed to Rocco’s in the West Village to meet up with some other friends who ran! Once that party ended as well, I returned home and started feeling the soreness and tiredness that would plague me all week (worth it!!!!!).

Conclusion:

An incredible day, marked by a new personal record, perfect weather, and the best group of friends and family watching from near and afar. I will be running the RBC Brooklyn Half-Marathon in May, but before then I’m hoping to cheer my friends and family on at some events in their lives!