R e v e l i s t R a e
Cooper Made Me Do It
Running With My Dog Changed My Life
was always a pretty stressed out kid ,
Iwho eventually blossomed into the stressed out semi-adult before you .
Worrying was my personal nightmare carnival , even though when you ' re a kid you have nothing that ' s really worth worrying about . Over time , my stress evolved from arranging my Beanie Baby collection to filling out college applications , scoring media internships , and landing a journalism job in New York City .
It all happened so fast , I could barely catch my breath .
I am an unflinchingly unchill person , and in part , that ' s served me well . It ' s propelled me through my career ; it ' s the force that drives me to always beat my own best time — but in the process , I ' ve beaten myself up quite a bit , too .
After 23 years in this stressed-out flesh vessel , I decided to get serious about coping with my day-to-day anxieties , so I considered my options .
I could :
Rae and Cooper by Rae Paoletta
2 . Adopt a family of kittens and pile them on myself in a giant bed , which would indeed alleviate my stress but undoubtedly clear out my bank account and social life . 3 . Try something reasonable , like exercise .
It ' s not that I didn ' t want to exercise since I moved to the city , it ' s just that I wanted to do other things more , like drink gin and complain about not having enough time to think or exercise .
There just wasn ' t enough time in the day , or enough options . What could I do ? Gym memberships are expensive , and I have an irrational phobia of aerobics classes ( I walked out of my Aunt Corinne ' s class almost eight years ago and still feel a gnawing pain of embarrassment about it . I am so sorry , Aunt Cor . You deserve better .)
But in May , all my stress about being stressed started to ameliorate itself , almost by accident . My boyfriend , Ben , and I adopted a little mutt puppy from Texas , who we named Special Agent Dale Cooper , after the detective from “ Twin Peaks .” We call him “ Cooper ” for short .
From the day we got him , Cooper was a radical little ball of puppy energy . Even the most banal aspects of the city were his Disneyworld . Pedestrians weren ' t people trying to get to work , they were friends who needed to be greeted with a friendly jump ! Pigeons weren ' t trash birds , they were moving targets that demanded to be chased !
One day , on our walk , I decided to do a light jog and see how he ' d react . At first , he looked at me with the quizzical face of a child who just burst open a pinata , only to find there was no candy inside .*
* Based on a true story . All parties involved will remain anonymous for their / my sanity .
tragically sweaty girl being towed by a tiny dog in the middle of a bustling street in Brooklyn .
But for once , I didn ' t think about exercise , anxiety , or anything really — and that ' s when I got hooked .
For the last few months , I ' ve been doing 30-minute runs with Cooper at my side . Though I still have to occasionally pull a piece of street chicken or styrofoam out of his curious little mouth , I couldn ' t ask for a better running partner or friend .
He ' s also a pretty good coach ; he definitely makes sure I don ' t slack off . When I slow down or feel like quitting , he silently reminds me that there are BIRDS TO BE CHASED AND PLANTS TO BE SNIFFED , AND OH MY GOD HOW COULD YOU POSSIBLY WANT TO GO HOME ??
Cooper literally exhausts me , and I love him for it . I used to have trouble falling asleep at night , thinking about the day ahead or something embarrassing I did ten years ago . But after hauling him around Crown Heights , I ' m able to lull myself into a peaceful slumber almost instantly .
Running with my dog is not a revolutionary idea , but it has revolutionized the way I treat myself . I still get to do all my favorite things ( i . e . drink gin and complain ), but I don ' t feel the weight of worry as much .
Because of my dog , my amazing boyfriend , and the small changes I ' ve made to my everyday routine ( thanks for the probiotics , mom ), I feel healthier and most importantly , happier . If Cooper has taught me anything , it ' s that being excited — even stupidly so — is the first step in implementing personal change .
If Cooper can be excited about garbage in the street , I can be excited to go for a damn run .
1 . Pull an “ Into the Wild ,” which sounds totally cavalier , except for the fact that I cried for five days straight the only time I ' ve ever gone camping , and it was literally on a beach in Puerto Rico .
But eventually , he started to dig it . He was running out in front of me , practically begging me to go faster . It made me laugh to think about how an unsuspecting person would see us : a
Rae Paoletta is a News and Identity Reporter at Revelist , an online publication for Millennial women . She lives in Brooklyn with her boyfriend and their cat , Artemis — and their aforementioned puppy , Cooper .
Autumn 2016 FIT to Print
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