This week started off awful. Absolutely awful.

I have 3 tests, I received a horrible grade on my biology quiz, I felt sick, and overall everything was falling apart. I had that “down in the dumps” vibe going.

Fast forward to Wednesday night when my mom asked me if I wanted to go to a cycling class with her. Now, I have been to cycling classes before; however, I always just felt like I was “working out”, but not actually taking anything away from the class. It always felt like a hajj to actually work out, rather than something I to enjoy.

So...yes, I told my mom that I would go with her.

When I got into the car to go, I was regretting it big time. It was snowing heavily outside, I was cold, I was tired, I flat out was not in the mood.

When we got there, I met the instructor Katie. My mom knew her prior to this class because she has been to plenty of Katie’s classes, but I hadn’t. After chit chatting for a bit, it was time for the class to begin.

I headed over to my bike, got on, closed my eyes, and told myself I’m going to do this, and I’m going to love this. As soon as Katie put the music on, I swear I was in a completely different world. It was like everything that was stressing me out didn't matter anymore. I felt like I was running away from all my problems. It was just me in my own little world, cycling away all my problems.

It was a combination of the music, the cycling itself, and also Katie's encouraging words. When things began to get harder, she would repeat over and over “You are so damn strong” to the whole class. Those words in themselves changed my world.

I realized that the beginning of my week was only a tiny piece of the big picture. I realized that I am strong. I can do anything I set my mind to, but most importantly I can do anything I put my mind to which is pretty powerful.

Now, I am not telling you that if you take a cycling class all of your problems will go away... however, I am strongly encouraging that you find something to do that is not in your normal schedule, something that is not in your normal routine, something that will make you happy.

Oftentimes, I feel that we get stuck in a cycle where we get bored and therefore do not want to do any of our responsibilities. But if you change things up sometime, you might motivate yourself in ways you've never thought of before.