Often we forget to take the time to reflect and appreciate how far we have come throughout the years, and how much we have already accomplished, that perhaps we never imagined how much. Every so often, I think about the impact some decisions have in people’s lives and how just a small decision can have such a ripple effect in our future. Without expecting it, certain things become an important aspect of who a person is. Joining Crossfit back in 2012 was one of those things for me. I never imagined that going to one class would eventually change my view of health, fitness, and that it would introduce me to a world of strong women, inspiring me to be like them.

I started exercising ten years ago with the sole purpose of losing the twenty pounds I had put on since high school. At that point, I felt unhappy and needed something to make me feel better about myself. I was in a dead-end relationship, had a crappy job, and was disappointed about dropping out of college. Deep down I knew I was capable of so much more, but I did not know how to get started.

For the first few years, my workout regimen consisted of tons of cardio and putting myself through every diet in the book. I eventually did lose the weight I wanted to lose; however, I could not stay committed to that lifestyle. I went through a roller coaster of diets and binge eating for years, and would always end up putting the weight back on. Even at the times where I was at my smallest, I would look at myself in the mirror and still did not like whom I saw. I could not understand why, I thought that if I just got to that one specific number on that scale that everything would magically change, and that I would finally be happy, but I couldn’t be more wrong.  

It was not until I started Crossfit that something finally clicked, my perspective about fitness changed and I finally developed a new understanding and love for it. I realized that I was taking my body for granted, that I was so much more than a number on a scale. I realized that eating healthy and exercising was not a punishment. That it was a way for me to nourish and thank this perfectly imperfect little machine I was blessed with, which allows me to get up every day and accomplish so many things. All of a sudden, I found myself making goals that had nothing to do with my weight and everything to do with my strength and performance. Week after week, I grew stronger and could not get over how many things I was able to do, things I never thought possible, I never imagined being able to do a pull up or a push or even be able to lift more than my body weight off the ground. It made me feel powerful, fearless, and most importantly, I started to believe in myself. For the first time I looked at myself in the mirror and was proud of who I saw.

The lessons I have learned through fitness have transferred over to every other aspect of my life. It has given me a tremendous amount of confidence and taught me valuable lessons on discipline, consistency and hard work.  Today, in my thirties, fitness is still one of the most important aspects of my life and even though it has been far from a perfect journey, every day I try to become just a little better version of who I was yesterday.