Keep Moving Forward

For the past two weeks, I've been packing all of my belongings into boxes, like I always do at the end of summer. The time always feels like it goes by so fast--working, training, and spending time with family-- but it's finally time to move back up to Atlanta and leave my hometown, where I've been for the past two months. 

I feel like I'm always trying to adjust to a new place once I finally get settled in, but I guess that's just how things are at my age. Due to the school year, I'm always traveling back up to Atlanta around this time. Even though I had planned to take a year off of school, I realized it might be a smarter decision to just go to school part-time. This way, I am still moving forward with my education, but I will still be able to train full-time and do everything that I had planned to do in the next year with tournaments. Dealing with all of these important aspects of my life has been pretty stressful lately, but I am ultimately really content with the decisions that I have made.    

      Since I haven't been taking classes this summer, I've been working at my dad's Doctor's office, trying to save up money for the rest of the year. It has been nice to make some extra cash and spend my days with Dad, but working from 8am-5pm every day can really takes it toll--especially since I drive one hour to train at ZicroBJJ in Tallahassee, Florida every night after work. You could say that I've been pretty busy for the past couple of months, but I really do enjoy my job and ending my nights on the mats is just an added plus.
I've had a great summer with everybody in my small hometown, but it's time to get back to the real world, living and doing things on my own again. For now, it's just the process of getting settled back into a new place, changing my schedule, and getting adjusted to the city lifestyle again. I can't wait to spend my long days at the Alliance gym and work hard to achieving my goals. After having a couple of months off of competing, I'm more than ready to step back on to the competition mats and do what I love to do best. Next stop, Chicago Open! Ouss! 
--Morgan Beverly 

Action Speaks Priorities

Being 19 years old, most college kids are experiencing living life on their own--meeting new people and adapting to the college lifestyle where partying usually overrides schoolwork. Sometimes this time in teenagers' lives can negatively affect their future by getting caught up in drinking or doing drugs, but it is important for upcoming college students to prepare themselves to have the will power and intelligence to  be able to control themselves when faced with this environment. 

As for me, I was never really into the whole "party" scene in college, but I did get to see how it affected some of the people that I knew and lived with. Watching some of my friends go to parties and get wasted, as if they had somebody they had to impress by doing so, was so silly to me. I never was able to understand the importance of showing up to college parties, especially if somebody was just going to try to pressure me into drinking in order to "fit in." 

Eating healthy and working out has always been an important aspect of my life, because I grew up with it, and I wasn't going to let college change that part of my life. Jiu jitsu has been a great way for me to stay focused and keep my priorities straight through college. On most nights, I spend hours just training at my gym instead of going out to clubs and bars in Atlanta. I would much rather stay home and relax after a long day on the mats, drinking a cold can of coconut water-- rather than being at some random person's apartment playing beer pong. In the long run, partying will affect your life and health very negatively. Although partying may seem "fun" in the moment, college students should be mature enough to know that this could lead them down a bad road.

I would recommend any college student that is moving away from home to try jiu jitsu, especially women. The good thing about brazilian jiu jitsu is that you can locate a school almost anywhere all over the country because of the upcoming popularity of it. Jiu jitsu teaches you discipline, self-defense, patience, and it allows you to meet some of the greatest people who can ultimately help you achieve your goals. Being so far away from my family since my move to Atlanta for school, my jiu jitsu school has become like my second home and my teammates have become like my family. Rather than becoming addicted to the party scene, college students should use their time to do more productive things. If the worst thing that you are doing with your time is rolling around on mats, learning how to defend yourself and choking your best friends...I think you're doing alright. I can honestly say that finding jiu jitsu has been one of the best decisions I have made in my life. I'm fully addicted, and I plan on pursuing my dreams and goals for many many years to come.

--Morgan Beverly