Weekly Elevate Check In #4

One month of Elevate with Kye…wow. This has been such a month of growth and purpose and I am thankful you are following along with me as I give myself a year, hold nothing back, and elevate.

Let’s jump into our weekly check in!

Medical School Update: I pushed hard this week with Step studying and seeing the results come together, I am now two weeks away from test day and focusing on high yield information and pushing for a strong finish!

Highlight of the week: The time I spent with friends! Step studying can be so isolating so I really enjoy the moments when I take a workout class with a friend, meet for coffee or smoothies, or see each other in the library. I’m also thankful for community - especially this week.

Low of the week: The election results have been a major low of the week - I won’t use this post to talk about why politics is important and how this week also brought up a lot of emotions as a Black woman but I will say I am holding onto hope and using all my emotions to fuel my path forward.

My book this week was Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates. This is a book I had heard of and heard of Coates’s phenomenal writing - and when I saw he just released a new novel about Palestine and disrupting myths in our world - I knew it was time to start uncovering his work. I started with Between the World and Me: a letter to his son and narrative of his truth as a Black man in America.

The book is beautifully written. From the first few pages I could see why Coates is among the greats of writers…the purposeful imagery, the consistent use of language describing “The Dream” (the American dream that was built on and only exists with the use and disregard of Black bodies), the repetition of “the body” as he tells his son to protect his body and take back possession of his body. And the way how race is described, he says “those who believe they are white” as to emphasize each time to the reader that it is a belief, a purposeful construction to oppress.

Reading this during the election week, it honestly made me more angry but it also was the best time to read it because it is visceral, it is impactful, and it reminding me of all we must continue fighting for. I highly recommend, it is a must read.

As far as how I have been finding the time to read, the mornings have been my favorite time. I give myself an hour in the morning before I start studying to get ready for my day, say my morning prayers, and spend some time reading.

My fitness this week was:

Sunday - Cycling

Monday - Pilates

Tuesday - 3 mile Run

Wednesday - Cancelled my hot yoga and cried in bed….cause yeah

Thursday - 4 mile Run/Walk

Friday - 1.5 mile evening Run

Saturday - Strength Training

Sunday - Hot Pilates

This past week, my friend invited me as a guest at her gym and y’all I felt like I was in a SPA! We went into the sauna and steam room after our 4 mile run/walk and it felt like every bit of stress was leaving my body. I was thisssss close to signing up for a membership but unfortunately it’s just not in my little medical school budget but hopefully it can be soon as I continue to invest in my fitness and wellness.

This was such a great week for me physically. I brought my mile time down to 9:30 ish and hit 3 miles! It’s actually crazy because I was running like 11 minute miles and could barely do 2 miles when I just started running this past summer. The fall time has really been the best time to be running, I’m warm enough without being so hot and feeling like I am going to pass out. If you’d told me at the start of this year that I would enjoy running I would have laughed in your face…but that just shows you that you have to try things. Don’t count yourself out and say you can’t do it!

The quote of the week is from Bob Marley because I listened to a lot of Bob this past week. I grew up listening to his music as my dad was a huge fan and would have his songs on repeat. As a kid, I sang to the lyrics but didn’t comprehend them. Listening to the songs now brings me memories of childhood and of my dad, but also unveils so many important messages within the words.

Keep the faith, keep the fight.

This week I want to share a very quick and delicious meal that is one I keep on rotation: Ground Turkey and Cabbage!

There is something about the mix of the turkey and the cabbage that just WORKS. I usually serve it with rice but I did some Orzo this week and - omg Orzo is so good why have I not been cooking this before??

The recipe is simple, I chopped some mushrooms, tomatoes and onions and sautéed them, then added my ground meat and cooked it. In a separate pot I added my cabbage and sprinkled with salt and right before it was all cooked I added my meat and veggies and stirred together.

I’ve made this meal in a variety of ways, you can use whatever you have in your fridge - like adding bell peppers or adding more greens with some spinach. I did some broccoli on the side and together it is super yummy. Let me know if you try it!

This week, I want to us to focus on values. I’ve been seeing a lot of takes online post-election results and I think when emotions are high, when people are hurt, scared, and tired, we can sometimes act in ways that are actually against our values. Our values are also what uphold us, who we are, what we stand for, and how we can best support ourselves.

So the goal this week is to write out a list of your core values. Even if you’ve done this before, values can shift with time so I invite you to spend some time in your journal and reflect on this.

Until next week,

Kye