Drink More Water

Drink More Water. Besides it being the supremely infectious catchphrase of Chicago’s Mick Jenkins. He takes water to symbolize the truth in all of its forms. Meanwhile, it has become one of my goals for life. I never really knew how to drink water until I grew up and put the sugary drinks away.

Mick Jenkins – Drink More Water:

While this may also be a metaphor for the truth to Jenkins, it symbolizes a double entendre for both in my life. When I was young, I was someone that loved juice and pop. I went through a phase in my life where I begged my grandmother to buy a ten-pack of Mountain Dew for me to drink on the weekends. Mountain Dew must have cocaine in it because I definitely got addicted to the point where before an episode of Family Matters ended, I was working on my third bottle. This continued until I started getting headaches and not sleeping. Otherwise, I would drink juice and milk over water no matter how hot it was. Grape Faygo was king and Ohana Raspberry Lemonade was heir to the throne. I even ran through entire cases of Vernors ginger ale in the wintertime. I hated water.

That all started to change as I got older. The bigger I got physically, the more I started to sweat. Too much sugar in my diet would make me hot and sweat super quickly. Then, I would find myself sweating all types of toxins, leaving my clothes ruined. I could never wear white because it would only last a couple weeks. Around the same time, my grandfather’s kidneys went out and I started to really reconsider what I took into my body.

I had a similar dealing with the truth. I would lie a lot as a child. It wouldn’t be huge lies, they would be small, non-damaging lies. They wouldn’t be critical at all. I would lie about spending vacations with family members on class essays or stories behind a favorite shirt or something. I would never lie about things that would hurt, but eventually, the lies started to come out of my pores. I would lie just for lying sake when people didn’t even care. I would lie about homework and free time, when it would only hurt myself. That all stopped when I got into a relationship and the things my ex would lie to me about would be small but hurt me deeply. I had friends that would avoid telling to full truth to me to hurting my feelings, but that hurt my feelings more.

To deal with my water consumption bottle, I had to figure out how I liked to drink water. I like my water room temperature and large gulps. I went on a search for bottles that would best serve that purpose. It took a bit of adjustment but after I found one, I went through a phase where I would finally find a water bottle I like and would lose it. To this day, the only things I lose are water bottles. If anyone knows anything about me, I hate losing things so its a touchy subject. But, I kept buying trying water bottles to get me to drink. I keep them around me to make sure I always reach for water first.

Similarly, I went through a similar process with telling the truth. It was super difficult at first because people didn’t like my answers. I would have an urge to do whatever was the easiest but I didn’t like how I felt anymore. I had to learn how to accept people’s feelings for what they were and not try to change myself to get the best reaction out of them. By me accepting my truth and getting comfortable with whatever the reaction, I felt better. Cleaner, lighter, and happier with my life. I lost a lot of friends on the way to true honesty, but now I can’t image being any other way.

This wasn’t to say that I lie now, because I don’t (almost tragically so) but more of a reminder about who I am and where I came from. I had to finally notice something wrong before I developed the strength to change it. To change bad habits like that, you have to make it more convenient to follow a good one. I had to constantly buy no water bottles and commit myself to being better. Same thing with living in truth or any obstacle in front of you. Struggles may arise but it’s always better putting on a fresh t-shirt and looking in the mirror and seeing clear skin. You feel better doing the right thing. Drink More Water.

Don’t forget to Turn your Brightness Up

#BeMagnificent🔆

Any bad habits you’ve overcome from youth until now? Any mountain dew breaking up family stories? Anything you’d like to share? Leave them in the comments below.