If you were to tell anyone who knew me five years ago that I recently signed up for my first half marathon, they would laugh, scoff, and spew whatever drink they were about to sip all over their lunch
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| Katelyn Wyszynski (far left) with fellow judges at the EXCEL Awards Judging in 2009. |
plate because running used to be something that as a rule, I just didn't do. Shortly after graduating from college, I spent my days in front of a computer looking for my first post-grad job, and after eight hours of that, either drove a few blocks to pick up some pizza or walked the 20 feet into my parents' kitchen and sat down to a nice home-cooked meal. Before long, the routine started taking its toll on me, and I realized I needed to get outside. So every day, in between the last Monster.com send and mom's meat-lover's lasagna, I went outside and ran a mile. It was agony—but a bearable 10 minutes of agony—in comparison to the rest of my considerably lax day.
I landed my dream job working for a magazine but soon found myself immersed in an even more computer-screen laden, sedentary lifestyle. I liked the work I was doing, but I didn't like being cooped up in an office all day. So, I brought back the mile-long runs from my job-hunting days, and this time, I actually looked forward to them. I enjoyed the "me” time outside the office, enjoyed the fresh air and the natural sunlight (fluorescent for eight hours a day gets old real fast). I especially enjoyed the way I felt after finishing a good run—refreshed, energized, clear-headed, and ready for the work day.
Those mile trots quickly turned into my first 5k, followed by many others, which turned into a 7-mile race, which gave me the confidence needed to sign up for my first half marathon. And here I am, working my way up to 13.2 miles and loving every minute of it! Running has turned into an escape for me, and I love it the way anyone else might love playing soccer or going fishing.
Why am I prattling on about my love of a good jog? Because believe it or not, a similar relationship developed between me and association volunteering. At first, I was a not-so-active member, signing up and sending in membership fees simply because my company was shelling out money for me to become a member of. Until, that is, my boss pointed out the "call for volunteers” to judge Association Media & Publishing's Excel Awards. I was already (happily) up to my ears in applications for awards programs, submitting our association's magazine for various categories in various programs. We'd done great work, and I wanted recognition for it! I was pumped.
On top of that, I was the editorial assistant of our publication and loved the entire publishing process—what could be more fun than finding out about other magazines and how they are put together? I immediately signed up to judge the awards. After spending just one day working with designers and editors and discussing the pros and cons of different books, I was in heaven. Coming from a small association with a small communications staff and an even smaller magazine team, it felt great to spend an entire day talking with other editors and designers solely about magazines. Better yet, it felt great to hear about trials and tribulations at other trade publications and know that I wasn't alone in the hurdles I had to overcome.
It took me a while to get the little push I needed to get outside and run. But it certainly didn't take long to realize I enjoyed everything about running. The more I ran the longer and faster I wanted to go. Same goes for volunteering with Association Media & Publishing: I needed a little nudge to get my foot in the door, but once there, I was happy and I was hooked.
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| Katelyn Wyszynski (middle) volunteers at the 2009 EXCEL Awards with Janet Mannheimer of Publishing Experts and Jeff Bebee of American Institute of Physics. |
I've since judged the Excel Awards every single year – both in person and online when I couldn't be there – and signed up for a number of other Association Media & Publishing committees, events, etc. Volunteering gives me a break from the daily routine, gives me a chance to indulge myself doing something I love (whether it's evaluating magazines for the Excel Awards, or writing for Signature magazine), and helps me feel appreciated and applauded when I go above and beyond.
Running a few miles on my own feels great. So does writing a few pages about something I find interesting. But when I cross the finish line and a huge crowd is whistling and cheering, it feels a million times better. And when Association Media & Publishing—the organization of my peers—asks me to stand up for applause at an annual meeting or my boss gives me an extra pat on the back when my name pops up in a blog article, it feels a million times better.
Katelyn Wyszynski is publications specialist, American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators. Twitter feed: @kwyszynski.
