Goals – Alaina O'Neal

Designer’s desk: Kicking it up

For my new experience this week, I decided to kick things into high gear by taking my very first martial arts class.

This goal of trying new things prodded me to reconnect with an old Facebook friend whom I knew took Tae Kwon Do, and I asked him where I could start. He saw my request for a Taekwondo class and raised me a Jui Jitsu class.

While I wasn’t sure that I would still be standing after the first one, not to mention I had no idea what the difference was, I agreed to go to both. (As it turns out, Jui Jitsu doesn’t require much standing anyway — but I’ll get to that later).

I was really excited about trying a martial arts class. It’s actually always been something I’ve had a small interest in, yet never bothered to try. But as the time grew closer, more and more visions of getting kicked around by kids half my size started entering my head, and it dawned on me that I had no idea what I actually signed up for.

Luckily for me, my friend was very encouraging, and like my other new experiences, it was a very easy going, do-what-you-can type of atmosphere. Plus, the class was small and consisted of other working adults who were nice to me and didn’t kick me around.

Tae Kwon Do mostly focuses on technique, so I didn’t have to spar with anyone. It’s of Korean origin, and it mostly taught the proper form on kicking and punching — which makes sense because I also learned that the name itself translates to “the art of the hand and foot.”

I was surprised how many of my former “yoga skills” were incorporated throughout, since a lot of the technique involves balancing and attention to breathing. It was surprisingly very therapeutic, and in the beginning I even started to feel like a bit of a natural. But that was short-lived as soon as the instructor added a second step.

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Designer’s desk: Water adventure leaves lesson in wake

There are many benefits to living in East Tennessee, and the lakes that surround us are a great example of that.

Recently, I got a better taste of what exactly our area lakes had to offer — quite literally because it did involve a couple accidental mouthfuls of water — as I attempted a little something called wakesurfing for the very first time.

The first thing I learned about wakesurfing is that there is a difference between that and wakeboarding — which I didn’t know until moments before going out into the water. For weeks I had been telling my friends I was about to try wakeboarding. (Oops).

So to give a very brief, not-so-technical difference for those of you — like me — who did not know the difference: Wakeboarding involves faster speeds, a different kind of board and more use of the rope.

Part of me had always wanted to try some type of boarding or skiiing, but my stomach was in knots when the day actually approached. My parents put me through swim lessons when I was younger, and I mastered the doggie paddle, but that’s pretty much all I retained. I’m someone who hates putting her face in the water — especially lake water — and I try to avoid it at all costs. Eventually I realized that falling would be unavoidable, so I instead tried to fool myself into thinking I would figure out a magical way to fall without getting my face wet.

As I watched the other five people on the boat surf first, I tried to take note of their movements and admired their fervor as they darted in and out of the wake and glided over the water.

They impressed me. And I appreciated the fact that they pushed me to try it without making me feel too pressured. I psyched myself up and told myself I could do it. After all, attitude is everything, right?

On my first round in the water, I couldn’t even stand up on the board.

But I did on my second — and it only took about fifteen times of falling before I had a decently long ride.

It was exhilarating — I experienced a rush of adrenalin that I haven’t had in a very long time. It was worth having my eyes, nose and ears filled with lake water a couple times — and now I’m a little less afraid of that concept.

As I thanked the crew at the end of the day for all their support, they told me something that surprised me a little. I thought they have been wakesurfing for years, but they had only started last summer. They were just a group of people who pushed each other. They would pull up videos on the Internet and critique each other’s moves, constantly trying new tricks and tips to improve themselves. They described themselves as like-minded individuals who sought self-improvement in something that was important to them.

I once read that you are an average of the five people you hang out with the most. It’s important to spend time with people who have skills that you lack, but wish to cultivate. Since you become like the people you hang around, find people who inspire you to be the best version of yourself.

Success and happiness isn’t about comparing yourself to others, but it does require having a good group of people around you who can help you reach your goals — whether you’re on the lake, on the job or just one face full of water away from doing something great.

This series is a weekly installment about following through with a New Year’s resolution to have a new experience each week. To suggest topics or experiences, email alaina.akens@ elizabethton.com.

Designer’s Desk: Starting resolutions

Someone once told me the average person has approximately 60,000 thoughts per day, and that 90 percent of those thoughts are the same as the day before.

I’m a little skeptical on how accurately the average amount of thoughts can be measured from person to person, including how much they vary from day to day. But if it is true, it’s a little disheartening. I realize that we as humans are creatures of habit. I am often guilty of following the same routine from week to week, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Actually, I would even go so far as to say that following a schedule is healthy. But it also lacks challenge, and I wonder how much (or little) effort it would take to allow ourselves more than just 10 percent-worth of new daily thoughts. Learning something different always feels like an accomplishment, at least for me, and my favorite way to do that is through new experiences.

That’s why my New Year’s resolution was to experience new things. Now that it is halfway into the year 2014, I realize that I could not have made that goal any more vague if I had tried. However, I can say with certainty that I have done at least two things this year that I have definitely never done before.

My first new experience? I broke a bone, in my right index finger.

My “clicking finger.” As a designer, it was probably one of the few injuries that could potentially affect my work. I wish I had a better story for how it happened when people ask, but I smashed it with my car door. I don’t recommend trying it.

The second new experience I had this year was that I let myself run out of gas. Not: “My gaslight was on, and whew, that was a close one!” My car actually stopped running because it literally had no more fuel. I don’t have a good excuse for letting this happen, either. Actually, I had just passed a gas station about a mile before when my car started to sputter to a halt.

My only defense is that I was running late, and I drive a fuel-efficient car — which I thought could run forever. Alas, it does not. Who knew?

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