Let me be clear- I don’t go to the gym to look good. I go to the gym to make my body look good, so when I leave the gym and take a shower and put on some nice clothes and make up, I look good.

Maybe it’s because I was an athelete when I was growing up. When you play sports, you workout in jerseys and ugly shorts. You wear t-shirts that you don’t care if they get dirty or sweaty. You focus more on the performance than how you look while doing it (obviously, pretty people sports like figure skating, synchronized swimming, and UFC fighting are exceptions…).

I have yet to really embrace the transition into adulthood where people seem to care about what they look like when they’re at the gym. It’s confusing to me. I’m not there to be seen. I like to be quiet and anonymous. I don’t want to be noticed. I want to be not bothered.

I don’t understand the obsession with matching gear. Some days, I’m proud of myself for having a cute outfit that goes together, but that’s like once a month after I’ve done laundry. After that day, I’m lucky if I can piece together all the necessary items to get in a good workout. I try not to mix things that blatantly don’t work together, but if it’s all I’ve got- I’d rather go looking like a 5-year-old who’s mommy let them choose their clothes for once than not go out of vanity.

Having said all that… I have noticed when I look better at the gym, I sometimes will work harder because I’m motivated at how my body looks in the rocking workout clothes.

Then again, maybe I just look at myself in the mirror more when I look nice than on the days when I have eye gunk still in my eyes, an oversized-t-shirt, football shorts I stole from my high school, and a rat’s nest on my head.

Who knows.