one interesting thing that i've learned since i started exercising like a maniac earlier this year is how strength can manifest itself in so many different ways in different people--brute strength, flexibility, stability, muscle control. so much of it is purely mental--it's really crazy.

i find myself constantly thinking about different people in my yoga class or at my gym, "i'd never think he/she would be able to do that if i just saw him/her walking down the street." and i love that. i love that it's unexpected, hidden under your clothes, a secret you share with only the people you choose. i love that the big, bulky guys at my gym are no match in so many situations for the lithe, lanky women. i love that one from one week to the next, there can be so much change--how suddenly, you can do urdhva dhanurasana (pictured above) or a pull-up after so many weeks of trying and not getting there.

just about a year ago, i cut my hand. i was finishing up my fulbright application (so sure i'd get it); i was mildly depressed; i was obsessed with fiber (still am). i never would have thought i'd be a crazy exercise maniac (though it's obvious to anyone who knows me that i'm a pretty obsessive freakazoid), and i never would have thought that today, i'd be able to do what i can do. i certainly didn't imagine i'd be on this path, where i'm so happy to find myself--writing, heckling farmers, and generally healthy.

today, i burned my hand right over my scar--a chance for new skin to grow again. who knows where i'll be a year from now?