My Everyday Life: A day at the Gym!

I recently joined a gym- again. This time, I joined for a totally different reason than I did the last time.

With my priorities elsewhere, I had been struggling with consistency. I stubbornly forced myself to
go one morning, determined to at least not let the monthly fees go to waste.

On getting there, my nerves joined forces with my bladder against me, because as I passed
through the entrance, I almost ran to the ladies’ room.

As I walked in, I received a huge shock. I willed my eyes to recover as quickly as possible.

The gym is for everyone: the young, the old, the fat, the skinny, and those in-between. It is in our
best interest not to judge others, but it is courtesy, in my opinion, not to display ALL our imperfect
bits every chance we get.

When you walk into the gym bathroom, you walk past a section of lockers and benches on the way
to the toilets. People often use the lockers and benches after bathing or as they get undressed.

Unfortunately for me, my eyes locked on a lady fully naked with her legs open much wider than
necessary, chatting happily with some other ladies. I know I am a female, but even for me, I saw
more than I needed to see. (Isn’t that what towels are for?)

For someone who had attended a boarding school and lived in a female dormitory, I cannot explain
why that scene shocked me to my bones. Maybe it was because I expected her ‘hooha’ to at least
be partially covered, or she would close her legs slightly, or perhaps it was because her ‘mammary glands’ seemed like they had fed their fair share of babies and were in a competition to reach her tummy.

I only saw her for a few seconds, split seconds perhaps, because I would have closed my eyes and kept on walking if she was not in my line of sight, but I needed to see where I was going. Maybe there was nothing to be embarrassed about, perhaps I am blowing things out of proportion, but I wish I had seen a bright light, or a plain, dull, colourless screen instead.

As I went upstairs, I headed straight to the strictly for ladies gym section (like I had not had enough
of ladies-only for one day), but fortunately for me, they were fully clad and on the verge of leaving.

In a few minutes, I was thankfully by myself, enjoying my workout in solitude.

A young Indian lady walked in and greeted me. Considering how I had felt in the last hour, this
seemed amazingly refreshing. Most times when you say hello to some ladies in the gym, they rarely
respond, so I decided to stop greeting and focus on my workouts (don’t judge me, you would
probably do the same, perhaps 🙂

What struck me was the tone of her voice; it was not just polite, but warm and friendly. It was as if
she were extending an invitation, offering the possibility of a beautiful friendship. It seems poetic to
say such things about someone who merely greeted you and said nothing else, but that is precisely
how I felt.

A few minutes later, she said, How long have you been coming to the gym? Not too long, I replied.
Are you seeing results yet? No.

I took a good look at her and thought she had no business being at the gym; if anything, a fattening room would do her good. I noticed she flawlessly did her workout routine, as if she had been doing workouts for a living on a television show.

This made me a little jealous, considering she had just joined the gym a few days ago, while I was
fumbling through the equipment and losing my breath between workout routines.

Good body, great workout form, why was she here exactly? “I want to tone and strengthen my muscles”, she said. “When I wear skinny jeans, I do not like how my legs look in them.”

I know many women who would have given an arm, a leg and plastic surgery to have a figure like hers, but here she was pushing to be better. The life of women!

I finished my workout and left without saying goodbye because I received a phone call that
reminded me of an appointment I was running late for.

As I walked quickly to the parking lot, I noticed she was walking to her car as well. I walked slowly so she could see me and all but screamed her name, which, by the way, I didn’t know (what can I say, I am a recovering introvert!)

As I was about to enter the car and drive off, she caught my eye and smiled.

This was my cue to walk up to her and ask her name, where she was from, what she does for a living, and so on. I wish I had, but I didn’t. I smiled back and waved goodbye.

In my line of business, friends are hard to come by and even harder to maintain, so loneliness and solitude have become second nature with time (perhaps due to my personality or lifestyle).

I imagined us becoming good friends, maybe even starting a lifelong friendship ( perhaps I’ve watched too many movies). But at the same time, an apprehensive reality checked in: what if we do not share the same values? What if I am too socially inept to nurture what could have been a promising friendship?

For the next few minutes, I stared into space, seated in my car, imagining what could have been as she drove away, forgetting that I had an appointment to get to. I started the car and slowly drove off, having a perfect conversation with her in my mind.

Who knows, maybe we will meet again and have a real, socially acceptable chat. We’ll even connect and become good friends. Or perhaps this is one of those possible life-changing opportunities that I missed and will never get back.

Oh well, as the French would say, “Que sera, sera!” (meaning, it’s life, what will be will be).

But on a positive note, do your best to ensure that you seize every moment, every opportunity that
comes your way. It is better to try than to regret and always wonder what the outcome would have
been.

As we step into a new day, a new week, a new month or a new year, promise yourself to pull out all the stops and hold back no punches in the fight for your dreams.

You must succeed!