Community & You: Becoming a Better You, a Healthier You, & a More Fulfilled You!
A few months ago I was sitting at my desk at work and realized that I wasn’t happy. Sure, I was happy but I wasn’t fulfilled. I wasn’t challenged, I wasn’t excited to take part in extracurricular activities, I was just…meh. That was never me! I wasn’t sure when it happened, but I was bored!
I think this happens to everyone at some point; you live your life, get caught up in the monotony and daily routine and then something hits you – you want to make some changes. I realized that a lot of things are happening in our community of West Reading, and after I did some researching and talking to others I compiled a great list of things to do that won’t change the way you’re living to the extreme, but will give you an opportunity to get up, get out, and feel more fulfilled!
- Garden – Put your hands in the dirt and create something. Whether you are planting flowers or vegetables, it truly gives a sense of accomplishment to see that what you have started is growing. (Biggest benefit – eating the healthy veggies that you grew! I totally grew those carrots & I’m darn proud because they were the most delicious carrots I’ve ever had. Note – I don’t like carrots.)
- Garden + Community – Don’t have space to garden at your home or apartment? West Reading recently opened a Community Garden off of Penn Avenue and for a small fee you can reserve your own four-by-ten-foot plot of soil to grow whatever you’d like! Tended by the community members who also rent spaces, it’s a great place to meet new friends, and stock up on your veggies! Check out their Facebook page for photos & more info!
- Berks County IS Living – If you haven’t picked up a copy of Berks County Living lately, then you don’t know that every single month they offer a list of all the events in the Berks County Area (and beyond). Every month I open to the events section and add certain events to my calendar. Sure, I probably won’t get to all of them, but at least they are ON my calendar and when I wake up on a sunny Saturday morning and my phone calendar “dings”…I realize that I can join in on a new experience that I would have forgotten about!
Berks County Living’s Events page : Favorite this link & look at it every month!
Street Markets! – Every Friday and Sunday either Penn Street or Penn Avenue have a Farmer’s Market on the sidewalk. It normally takes up a block of two and vendors sell foods & goods, food trucks stop by, and people are on the streets sipping coffee, chatting, laughing, and walking their pups. How can all of those things not make you happy while the sun shines? Most produce is organic, the flower bunches are stunning, and it gets you up and walking!
Street Markets! – Every Friday and Sunday either Penn Street or Penn Avenue have a Farmer’s Market on the sidewalk. It normally takes up a block of two and vendors sell foods & goods, food trucks stop by, and people are on the streets sipping coffee, chatting, laughing, and walking their pups. How can all of those things not make you happy while the sun shines? Most produce is organic, the flower bunches are stunning, and it gets you up and walking!- Pokémon Go – Now, I may be a 30 year old woman that isn’t into gaming, but I can’t not notice the groups of kids out and about walking at the Reading Public Museum trails looking for Pokémon. At first I thought it was childish. Then…well…I tried it. Granted you NEED to watch where you are going but did you know that you can “hatch an egg” to get a better Pokémon by WALKING? That’s the point! You need to get up and go! I enjoy seeing the young groups of kids walking outside, hanging out with friends, and dum dum dum…exercising!
There are so many more ways to get out & enjoy your surroundings because so much happens in West Reading and Berks County! Some people may say our small town is “boring” but that’s because they aren’t looking around and seeing what there is to do. Join an event (many are free!) and take a friend. Don’t have a friend on the same schedule as you? Then maybe you’ll meet someone new who has a like interest and it sparks a new friendship. Surround yourself with what makes you happy and guess what? You’ll be happy.
