Paladin Joining the Rebellion

[PaladinShoshannah]

Hello,

I'm Shoshannah. I recently joined the Academy, and I thought it might be polite to introduce myself.

I have always been pretty active; as a teenager I was a gymnast and dancer, en route to becoming a professional - but then my mother got sick so I left the company to look after my brothers and sisters. After that I stayed active - until a Lisfranc fracture/ dislocation in my right foot forced me to take a long break. I kept on eating like I was an athlete though, and ended up overweight.

Getting active once I was 10 pounds heavier seemed kinda hard, so I didn't do it. At 20 pounds heavier I started to realize I should probably take action. But it wasn't until recently that I realized I was eating because I was unhappy. I never really got over having to stop being a dancer, and I never really got over losing full strength in my right foot either. This moment of clarity came to me shortly after I realized my tummy rolls were preventing me from doing my yoga practice – which felt like “one more thing†I “couldn’t†do anymore. However I realized I could do something about that, so I decided to join the Academy to empower myself in regaining some of the strength of my former physique.

My main goals at the moment (aside from following the Academy quests) are to resume my German long-sword practice (which I let fall by the wayside), and to join a gym and get into strength training. I’m less concerned with losing weight than I am about regaining a strong body, but I haven’t stepped foot in a gym in years since a man got aggressive towards me during my work out. A lot of my concern with my fitness is mindset – such as the feeling of being “helpless†to counter men like that, or to do anything about my injury – and just getting myself out of that funk. I’m not sure yet if I’ll be pursuing the Warrior route or the Monk route (with long-sword as my martial art of choice), but right now I’m listed as Warrior to encourage myself to go to the gym and try some dead-lifts.

I don’t know how active I’m going to be on the boards. I self-identify as a Paladin, and retreating into solitude, religious study, or philosophical pursuits (in-between taking the giant spiders out back) is matter-of-course for me. I also travel a lot, and have a pretty busy life, and that affects my ability to be online. That being said, it would be nice to have a community of fellow adventurers to say hello to in between my own adventures. (I also wondered if there are other Knights/ Paladins at NF, or even a Knightly Order within the ranks of the Rebellion?)

It’s a pleasure to meet you all,

Shoshannah

(I apologize in advance if this is a double-post - or even a triple or fourth post - every time I hit send it says the website is offline)

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[~Dark~Lady~Link~]

Hi Shoshannah! Welcome to the rebellion! You sound like a super interesting person, I didn't even know that there was a way to practice long swords till reading this (though I never thought about it before). I'm really impressed by your determination, especially after having that encounter at the gym. I'm sure that you're going to become a great swords-woman (shieldmaiden? or just paladin?) and strength champion!

[Basement Cat]

Welcome to the rebellion!

 

The important thing is that you work towards your goal and that you make yourself happy. Come by whenever the mood strikes you. The community will always be there when you need it. 

 

I don't know if there is a knightly order, but if not, why not start one? I know there are some people who are into medieval combat and sword fighting.

 

Good luck with your goals! May you achieve peace and enlightenment!

[SkiBlue]

Welcome to the Rebellion!

 

I can sympathize with you about feeling weak and helpless. You're in the right place. And don't worry about not being highly active here; we're all here to improve our lives, but it doesn't matter if we stop living them.

 

Sounds like you might actually fit in with the Monks. Stay with the Warriors for a while to see if it helps you get in the gym and train, but I would definitely check out the Monks as well. I know there's a good deal of Monks who do weapon training as well as martial arts.

 

A good way to find fellow knights and paladins around here would be to use your tag system. A band of Rebels are trying to connect like-minded people together using it. Feel free to use the tag "Paladin" when you submit topic posts.

 

I don't know if there is a knightly order, but if not, why not start one? I know there are some people who are into medieval combat and sword fighting.

 

Definitely sounds like that should be an accountability group. 

[PaladinShoshannah]

Hello everyone Thank you for the warm welcome. There’s nothing like having a strong band of adventurers questing alongside you

To Dark Lady Link: thank you for the compliment. I went and read your introduction post and I love your spirit. It looks like you’re quite the inspired writer, so I look forward to reading more of your adventures! I think the gift of a healthy body is a wonderful thing to give yourself. Regarding shield-maidens, the shield-maiden archetype is certainly a positive one that I also enjoy. Paladins are a bit different in that we’re pledged to uphold certain virtues and cannot stray from the Lawful Good path; but I could certainly see myself as a shield-maiden of Tyr...

To Basement Cat: thank you for the assurance that I can drop in as time allows, and the encouragement in establishing an order of NF knights. At the moment I am making my way through the forum and reading as much as possible (I would hate to risk my Lawful Good alignment on a broken rule ) - so once I am settled in a little more, maybe I will see about these accountability groups that SkiBlue mentioned…

To SkiBlue: thank you for the explanation of the tagging system and the link. The paladin description made me want to go and polish my virtues! I will definitely use the tagging system for any topics I may start, that does look like a useful tool. I also gave the Monks’ forum a look, and I think you’re probably right that I will fit in better with that group. I went and found a friend who claims to want to go to the gym this year, and made a gym-going pact with her, so that should suffice to get me through the doors of the gym’s dread halls…



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[Foo]

Welcome to the Rebellion.  Injuries have taken a heavy toll mentally and emotionally on a lot of the people that I train/trained with, so I can appreciate how awesome it is to see you bouncing back.  I wish you the best, noble paladin.

[PaladinShoshannah]

Hello Foo; thank you for the welcome    I appreciate your words; I always felt a bit foolish for letting the injury impact me as much as it did, but of course, attempting to invalidate the feeling was more foolish. I read your profile, and I deeply respect your desire to literally be a warrior monk. May the road rise to meet you as you tread it.