I want to share a little about myself and my past experiences and how they made me the person I am today on a deeper level than I mentioned on my About Me page. I want to provide some background on why I do what I do and why I'm so passionate about helping others recognize their authentic beauty and potential for greatness, especially girls and women.

My journey began as a young girl when I joined the world of gymnastics. Tumbling and flying through the air quickly replaced walking, and elite athleticism officially became a part of my life. As my skills started to improve, my fitness levels were improving even faster. Before I knew it, I was breaking regional records, becoming a nationally ranked gymnast for my strength and flexibility through a program called “TOPs,” the Talented Opportunity Program. Through these 30-hour training weeks, I fell in love with gymnastics, but I even more intensely fell in love with physical performance and what the human body is capable of. The 5-6 years I spent as a competitive gymnast transformed my way of life and are the foundation for everything I accomplished following, physically and mentally.

All in all, I was always a successful person growing up. After my years as a decorated, competitive gymnast, I became a 3-sport varsity athlete and a straight-A student in high school. I took AP classes, graduated top of my class, and was in leadership as a class officer all four years. I was recruited for modeling at age 15, about the same time I received a full-ride scholarship to a division-1 program after just 2 years of playing that sport. Now, this isn’t to say I didn’t COMPLETELY work my a** off day and night, 7 days a week. But overall, with that hard work, I was able to achieve my goals. I’ll admit, I didn’t hit many major obstacles in my quest for success. This lasted until college when my foundation crumbled.

I could go on and on about credentials, degrees, or certifications, but that's not the "why" I want to explain. As soon as I left home, those non-existent obstacles became very existent and I had no idea how to persevere and push through them because they were so new to me: the intense competition, the (multiple) season-ending injuries, the social pressures, and the new responsibilities as an adult living independently for the first time.

I realized that I slowly started doing things for entirely the wrong reasons. I didn’t do things for myself anymore. I didn’t do things for my own personal growth and my own ambitions. I didn't do things for the happiness and fulfillment they provided me with or to feed my soul. I did things to maintain the image and reputation I had created for myself in my years prior. My motivation to be successful in what I was doing was entirely based on maintaining a specific reputation to other people. It was based so heavily on external factors that it was impossible for me to be happy. I lost my internal drive to simply "do me" and be the best version of myself I could be. I was no longer my own person. I officially belonged to society and their idea of what I should be. I completely lost my self-love and authenticity.

Once I got to college my sole identity became “athlete.” I didn’t have the same desire to learn academically, there were social distractions, and I developed body image issues. What used to be me proud of my strong legs and athletic figure became an obsession with getting too bulky and looking “too masculine." Essentially, I lost myself and all the things I believed in- health, strength, personal growth, and living with passion. The obsession with this image I felt I was “supposed” to be only hurt my health and my achievements. At this time, trying to meet society's expectations of what it meant to be a female and an athlete at the same time was literally impossible. This is when the injuries took over. My body failed me because I failed my body- I didn’t love it, I didn’t treat it right, I didn’t give it the support it needed. My mental health got extremely negative, my physical health was plummeting, and my emotional health was to the point of depression.

I believe that everything a person does starts with the mind. My mind wasn’t focused on building strength, courage, self-acceptance, or the life my heart wanted. My mind-body was deteriorating, and I was injured year after year because I didn’t give it the fuel it needed to thrive. It lacked mental fuel (confidence, dedication), physical fuel (proper nutrition and rest), and spiritual fuel (passion, gratitude, self-acceptance).

So how did I get here today? I used my personal experiences of living with a sense of inadequacy, imperfection, a fear of failure, and my body image struggles for a positive change.

After college, I began working with young girls in empowering environments to build their courage and celebrate differences. I pursued a personal training certification knowing I could help people get healthier, happier, and more confident in who they are. I attended graduate school with much of my research focused on female physical activity- psychological, sociological, and physical aspects of participation and motivation, so I can become more of an expert in this area (not that I’ll ever be an expert). I worked with female athletes in sports conditioning to remind young women that building their physical strength is something to be proud of. I became a teacher to touch lives of all socioeconomic backgrounds. Now, I am taking all these experiences in the health and fitness world and turning them into something accessible AND effective to anyone and everyone who wants to reclaim their health and confidence.

I chose this path to make a difference and do something bigger than myself, and in doing so, I learned more about myself than I could have ever imagined. My favorite quote remains, "Be the change you wish to see in the world." -Ghandi. Be the difference. Be what you believe in. Be a role model. Be an inspiration. Be an example. It is my responsibility to share everything I have learned, through experience or study, with others.

Now, I am a mom to 2 beautiful girls. So, my goal continues. I want to be a role model for them by living the life I believe in, filled with acceptance, strength, compassion, and purpose. I want them to be able to focus entirely on their goals and dreams without feeling the need to act a certain way or do certain things because of how they look or are “supposed to look,” or because it’s what I want them to do. I want them to be able to be healthy, confident, and completely true to themselves, because this is what we all need to be truly happy and healthy.

I didn’t accomplish any of my goals those few years because of low self-esteem and a loss of my true self and values. But thank goodness for those few years- my experiences made me a stronger woman and lead me to where I am today. I am married to an incredibly selfless and loving (and very handsome) man, I am a mother to two beautiful girls, I am a successful business owner, I am a coach and educator doing what I am passionate about, and most importantly, I am happy, healthy, and thriving. 

So, with all that being said, I hope you have a better understanding of why I'm here and why I do what I do. My journey is my why. My struggles are what get me up at 5:00am excited to tackle the day. My family is what inspires me to stay the course. I'm far from perfect (which I love) and I'm certainly not an expert in you, but with my experiences, studies, and success stories with others, I know I can help you discover who you want to be and start rebuilding that person through fitness, self-appreciation, and confidence.