About a year and a half ago, I started on a journey of getting healthier. In that process, I've lost 50 pounds (and counting). I owe my success to three things: quitting sweets, quitting sodas, and Zumba. Last year at this time of year, I took a day off work to train to become a Zumba instructor. Zumba changed my life in a way I never expected. It helped me get fit, it helped me lose weight, and it helped me relieve stress. But best of all, it made me active, and enjoy being active, when I needed it most. One year later, I'm finally on the cusp of taking on my first classes. I spent the last year slowly eking my way into teaching. I'm pleased with the time I took to reach this point. Instead of jumping in, I first got the hang of doing one song, then slowly added one or two at a time until, after about eight months, I taught a full hour-long class. The more I teach, the more exhilarating I find it.

Tonight I stopped by Guitar Center, a store I don't particularly like because of the loudness and the less-than-friendly attitude of much of the staff. I have long loved music, and played both guitar and violin in what feels like a very different life. I used to imagine myself doing music for a living (okay, okay, high school me wanted to be a rock star), and when I lived in LA I was introduced to electronica music by certain awesome friends. I played with a few digital audio workstations, but didn't really take to it.

I realized a while back that I am not that different from a puppy; I find myself interested in all sorts of things, and want to do everything I find interesting and do it all at the same time. In that spirit, I realized that, with that approach, I was falling into the trap of the "swiss army knife" of endeavors. I'm not sure that's a real concept, but I'm making it one for the sake of this post. Basically, I was on track to become sort of good at many things. But what I wanted, and still want, is to be really good at these things.

With that in mind, I set aside my curiosity for music and focused on the things that were actually taking up my time. One of those things was photography. The other of those things was Zumba.

When I walked into the store today, I realized that I made the right choice. Instead of gazing longingly and thinking about wanting to know things I didn't know, I paid no mind to the music and focused on looking for speakers for my upcoming Zumba class. I realized that instead of wanting to know something about photography, I've actually gotten out there, sought out resources, and actually learned about photography. The energy and the effort is paying off.

I'm excited about actively pursuing an interest, and putting proper energy and time into it. I'm excited about my photos. I'm excited about teaching Zumba. I'm excited about getting ever more fit, and perhaps continuing my path of healthiness and weight loss.

I looked at an 800 watt speaker today that I thought might be a nice one to use for my Zumba classes. 800 watts is a lot. And I am a lot excited. 800 watts excited.