Backstory Cutscene

[SeekingCassandra]

Hey all -

You can call me Myrna if you like; I'll explain the user name in a sec. But first - backstory!

 

I was always a bookish, not terribly athletic child. Conveniently, I had been born with a heart condition, so exercise, and even overly strenuous playing was never really allowed, which was kind of ok by me. I did like having back yard adventures - my swing set was alternatively a time machine, pirate ship, the millennium Falcon, and Zorro's hide-out, all of which I mentally occupied as a cool, smart, strong character. Still, not alot of running/jumping/climbing, more sitting around thinking up stories. Fast forward to end of high-school, I am the token slightly chubby & super cynical kid in the back of the class, who writes fanfic rather then homework assignments, and knits in the back row of class to ignore the useless teacher. 

Graduation was quickly followed by heart surgery, and blicky-blam, easiest 10 pound weight loss in the history of the world - just required having your chest cracked open like a walnut, and a week in the hospital refusing to eat the awful food. Suddenly I was actually kind of fit!  After recovery, joined the workforce in a fairly active profession, took up dance classes, and stayed this gloriously svelte weight for about 6 years (abject poverty of the 20-something lifestyle helped too! lol)

Press "A" a few times to skip some dialogue about marriage, growing addiction to the Xbox,  job changed to completely sedentary office type, etc, etc,  and here we are - just turned 30, and those ten pounds brought back 40 of their closest friends, but forgot to bring any motivation to lose them.

 

So, I've always loved great adventure stories - to watch, to read, to write, to play. The tough warrior girl who took no crap from anyone always was my favorite. I always wanted to be her, but never actually thought I could be. And then I started playing Dragon Age Inquisition and decided I wanted to be Cassandra Pentaghast when I grow up. Except - I already am grown up! 

What started off as a joke, me telling my one friend who is the spitting image of Lelianna that we should go to a con and Cosplay as the Right and Left hand of the Divine, spurred on a realization: If I want to don the Seeker's armor, maybe I should be more like her - physically and mentally.  

 

I googled "warrior workout" and eventually stumbled across NF. 

And so my quest began. 

 

I doubt I will ever be half so determined, dedicated and kick-ass as Cassandra, but I won't ever be if I don't try, right? Starting small - walks, drinking more water, basic work outs,, that sort of thing, and then hopefully shifting to some strength training eventually

 

So that's me. Hope I didn't bore y'all. I really am getting a slow start - just doing some extra walks until I feel confident enough to start the basic workouts, but hopefully I will get there. Wish me luck!
 

 

[Laghail]

Welcome!

[SeekingCassandra]

Thanks so much! Just decided to take the full plunge and signed up for the Academy and am excited to really get underway towards my goals. 

[Odinson]

Welcome to the start of your epic adventure! 

[Guzzi]

Welcome on board!  I loved your backstory!  It sounds like you will fit in perfectly around here.  Don't ever feel bad about the level you are exercising at, everyone has their own sh*t going on and even though you might think your are "just doing some extra walks" you are doing something.  And that's what counts.  Hell, my situation is one where I'm looking forward to the day when I can go for walks, so you've already got me beaten hands down.  

 

How are you finding the academy? 

[SeekingCassandra]

I am really loving the Academy, @Guzzi, even though I am really taking my dandy old time going through the quests (haven't even done benchmark test yet). Maybe that is the exact reason I love it . . . any time I have tried anything else, when I didn't do it to their schedule, I felt irritated and like I was never going to catch back up. The fact that I can really take my time on the mindset module (which is really where I have the most work to do!!) and just dip my toes into nutrition and workouts as I feel comfortable really keeps me engaged and not at all frustrated and feeling like I am wasting time and money.

 

I can always keep making process, it just will always be at my own pace, to my own music lol!

[Tyr the Conqueror]

Improving on your former self at all is kick-ass. To be fair, Cassandra is fictional (and my freakin' favorite too! that closet fan-girl lol), so she's kind of cheating in that regard. Doing better than you did yesterday, last week or last month is a great feeling even if it seems like the slightest improvement. Good luck and welcome! You're among great friends here!  

[Guzzi]

I never joined the academy so I don't have any experience of working through the modules (I'm old school, I've been here since before the Academy was a thing) but I only hear good things about it.  There is very much a 'work at your own pace' mindset with NF in general though.  They really do recognise that each person is different with different skills and needs and that you need to really get one thing done solid before starting the next. 

 

Are you finding your way around the forum ok?  Need any help with the guilds, the challenges, creating your own character (and 'levelling up') or anything else?

[SeekingCassandra]

Yeah, I was going to try to go without doing the Academy, just cause I am a total skinflint about some things, but as much as I really need to be able to work at my own pace, I need a certain amount of hand holding; in that, none of the quests they have given me in the Academy were anything I didn't sort of already know how to do/know about myself, but I would never know how/when/why to apply them and probably never would due to stubbornness and laziness. Being spoon-fed what to do next, but being allowed to do it in my own time really has been the magic bullet for me I think.

 

As for the forums/guilds/challenges/ect, I *think* mostly doing ok. Haven't been too chatty on the forums just cause, y'know, social anxiety can still apply on the interwebs, but making a point to try and post some. 

 

 

[Guzzi]

 

Quote

Haven't been too chatty on the forums just cause, y'know, social anxiety can still apply on the interwebs, but making a point to try and post some. 

 

 

 

Yeah, it can still be a minefield, huh?

 

Dont stress about joining in the chatter too much, you can still benefit from just reading other people's posts and soaking up the information/knowledge that's being shared. 

 

For me, the challenges are where I think people get the most support.  If you think you would want to join in (you set your own goals so it's not like there's pressure to do any specific thing or go faster than you're comfortable with) then have a look through the challenge forums.  You can see what other people are doing and get ideas.  Some people go the whole hog and write their challenge thread "in character" which might appeal to you?

 

if there's anything I can help with, now or in the future, then give me a shout.  I can be a bit sporadic on the forum, sometimes I'm not around for a week or so (health issues) so if I don't respond then just shoot me a pm. 

[Caeleth]

Hey @SeekingCassandra, welcome to NF

 

I'm new around here too and starting at the very basics, but like @Guzzi said, don't worry about not doing enough, just moving more is a start!

I've personally found walking and basic exercises such as push-ups and squats to be enough for me to begin in this whole fitness thing as I too have been the bookish nerdy type my entire life. So welcome aboard comrade! Best wishes for your NF journey.