Six Months
A lot has happened in six months. I saw four local theatre shows, got married, ran over one hundred miles, wrote over twenty essays, raised over $1,300 for the Movember Organization, celebrated the holidays with family and friends, attended my grandfather’s funeral, and walked into and out of a hospital. And made it to six months sobriety. The radical change in my creative and fitness output has been momentous, and I wanted to highlight my writings and fitness achievements over these past six months.
It all started back in September when I walked into the hospital after a severe mental health breakdown that had progressed to suicide attempts. I wrote an essay, that I later submitted to the folks at the Glens Falls Hospital, to illuminate the experience and ways that I began to repair my brain. I was released from the hospital near the end of September, on the same day as my grandfather’s 90th birthday. With the help of my dad’s Facetime, I was able to virtually attend the birthday celebration.
In October, I wrote a short post about my grandfather, who passed away on October 26th of 2024 and the nostalgic and heartfelt connection with tigers. My Pop-Pop, Charles Palladino Sr., was an amazing person, and I am eternally grateful that I was able to share a little of his life. In November, I completed 33 miles of running (as well as grow a beard) to support Movember, a non-profit organization that spreads awareness on men’s mental health issues and pancreatic cancer treatments. I wrote an essay detailing the personal journey and active recovery after the hospital.
The holidays were a blur, with many trips down to New Jersey to visit family as well as visits upstate with friends. But in January, I started off the year running by racing in the Saratoga Spring’s First Day 5K. As well as writing personal essays about my life thus far and the possibilities of the new year. Following those personal essays, I wrote a review of the Headspace meditation mobile app that has allowed me to appreciate stillness and taught me how to calm my stress response, distancing myself from reactions and emotions. It started my journey into learning how to talk about and showcase reviews, to imbue my own excitement into words.
It led into three essays as I conquered 33 miles in January while listening to Jack and Euguene’s World Tour, a virtual race series on the ZRX app. The app has been around since 2012; kickstarted as a fun way to instill motivation for running in a zombie apocalypse. It has morphed into a world-renowned fitness app that encompasses not only zombies, but Marvel superheroes and other stories to help motivate anyone into a fitness lifestyle. They incorporate virtual races twice a year with leaderboards to encapsulate a sense of community. Jack and Eugene’s World Tour came out in 2021 in three parts, first one in their series of virtual races. I finally signed up this year to experience their story.
Listening to the first part of the journey reminded me of my first date with Michael in NYC. The second part of their tour was inspired by the fellowship tales of the Lords of the Rings, having us run deep into a zombie-infested labyrinth. The mission included a wonderful quote written by Matt Weiteska through the voice of Jack Holden played by Rhys Jennings. “The world has changed. I feel it in the air; I hear it in the trees. Much that once was is gone and those that live carry the burden of remembering it. Such a burden is a heavy thing for most folk to bare; but even in the darkest of times, hope and strength can still be found in the bonds between those that endure.”
Through an audio journey with twists, mystery, and ominous sounds, I was treated to an excellent virtual adventure, no matter where I was running or walking in the real world. For the final 5K, I chose to run from our home at Feeder Bend to the bustling Downtown Glens Falls to Michael and our first apartment on Nelson Street past our second apartment on Ridge Street to the Feeder Canal Trail. Once there, I realized that running on the trail after a major snowstorm mixed with icy rain was very tumultuous and potentially dangerous. But I slowed my pace, as Jack carried Eugene toward the red beacon atop Abel Township, the refuge of the characters that anyone playing the game will get to know. Running along the canal, over the Water Street bridge, and through Overlook Drive toward Feeder Bend made me realize the number of changes to the area since I moved up here in 2017.
As Michael and I embark on a new journey in our relationship as husbands, we will continue to spread love and kindness to everyone we meet; to continue to use empathy, curiosity, logical reasoning, and the power of individual actions to make sure that the world we live remains bright into the future. On February 5th, my sister, parents, and the Deputy County Clerk came to our home for a small wedding ceremony. It was incredibly lovely, and it was the first entry on our marriage celebration webpage. It will be updated regularly throughout the year, detailing our adventures and showcasing pictures.
My next writing project was a political expose, using the incredible article by The Atlantic’s Anne Applebaum, titled History Will Judge the Complicit from 2020. I used it as a guide and reminder for the tumultuous year our country will endure. I also resumed my volunteering by ushering at the Wood Theater in Glens Falls, attending a drag show as well as Anthony Richichi’s first play, Colorworld Live. It was a wonderful encapsulation of a young artist’s journey of self-expression in the midst of a society that does not appreciate it. Michael and I attended another theater experience at the Wood: Rent, the musical, performed by the Glens Falls Community Theatre. It was a wonderful experience, making sure everyone always remembers the struggles of the past to provide courage, strength, and resilience for the future.
On February 9th, we excitedly watched the Philadelphia Eagles destroy the Kansas City Chiefs in the Superbowl. And to celebrate, I wrote a sports essay filled with numerology about the significance of the game. Among our Palladino family in New Jersey, in the home of my Uncle Charles Palladino, all of us proclaimed the words, “This is for you, Pop-Pop!”
Later on in the month, I wrote an essay relaying my experience traveling overseas in 2023. It was a fantastic first venture overseas, away from the relatively new United States; seeing a side of humanity that I had only read about in books or watched in movies and television shows. As a budding world traveler, I am excited to save up for another international adventure and continue exploring the world, one place at a time.
I wrote an instructional essay on how to break free of the siren’s call of distractions from our smartphones, something that I have drastically changed in my own life. Breaking free of the algorithms pull toward echo chambers and closed-minded thinking takes diligent practice, willpower, and time. But we can utilize digital tools to help assist our minds instead of relying on our, often overburdened, willpower.
Michael and I ventured down to Proctor’s Theater in Albany twice over the next couple weeks to experience a play and a musical: Life of Pi, a story survival after a shipwreck and a journey of self-discovery, perseverance, survival strategies, and spiritual guidance as well as Come from Away, based on a true story that shows a side of humanity that is often forgotten. It takes place in the town of Gander, Newfoundland during the couple days after American airspace was shut down from the terrorist attacks in 2001.
In March, I finally wrote about the most incredible find in the summer of 2024: a book called The Long Run by James Acker. The story of how I found this book is profoundly amazing and it required divulging some history into the story of how I moved from New Jersey to the small city of Glens Falls, NY. The book wonderfully encapsulates moments in high school, especially living in suburbia.
Also in March, through happenstance, I ran with Dan Robert’s friends as he finished up the final miles of his 44-mile journey over 48 hours for charity. The charity that he was supporting was American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, an incredible organization that has a mission to save lives of people that feel that they no longer deserve to live. Dan Roberts is an incredible person; I only just met him, and his physical stamina and perseverance is unparalleled. His journey in life interacts with this cause in the most tragic way possible. But he is taking that pain and using it to uplift an entire community of people.
We ventured down to Philadelphia to attend a Flyers game at the Wells Fargo Center recently. I learned a little history, current sports events, the latest technological innovations, and myself. It was an absolute blast, despite the disappointing final score for the Philadelphia Flyers.
And that is quite a lot of experiences, transformations, and writings during the past six months. Lots of things to look forward to in the weeks and months ahead, as I finally regained that positive outlook on life that was always inside of me.
