Progress

Make measurable progress in reasonable time. – Jim Rohn

It is a very, very cool thing to see how far you’ve come over a few short months.  As I mentioned in my last post, I have been training for a half marathon since May.  I got the inspiration to run a half-marathon again from a few of my friends from college who were training to run the Pittsburgh half-marathon.  I also remembered how great of shape I was in after running a half-marathon in 2017, and I wanted to get to that point again.

So I set off and began training in May with one of my friends from work.  I started using the Nike Training Club app, which is what I used for the half-marathon in 2017, to schedule my workouts.  It’s really straight-forward and easy to use!  You pick your race date (they’ll let you know if you start training too early or too late) and will adjust workouts based on how many times you want to run per week.  I set mine at 5, which I felt was doable because I was also working a part-time job three days a week.

A few weeks into my training regiment, I got to the point that I had to run 5 miles.  That was the “long run” for that week and also my first 5-mile run since the last time I trained for the half-marathon.  I remember only getting halfway in and feeling defeated- I had unbearable hip pain and I hobbled my way back to my house upset with myself.  I didn’t finish the run.  I remembered coming inside and feeling disappointed, I cried to my husband saying that there was no way I could run a half-marathon this year.  I remember saying, “I can’t even run 5 miles!  How am I going to run over 13?!”  He told me to stay positive and to keep training and I’d be able to do it.

I didn’t quite believe him at that point.  I was worried my hip pain would come back.  See, I had terrible hip pain last year, to the point where it began waking me up in the middle of the night.  I underwent 3-4 months of physical therapy for it and, with the help of the therapists at Select PT, I slowly gained my strength back and my pain subsided.

I was really concerned that that 5-mile day was an indicator of how my future long runs would go.  But, I was wrong.  In fact, I felt myself getting stronger, faster, and I felt better than I could ever remember feeling.

However, a few weeks ago, I got sidelined from another injury.  I was in the midst of an 11-mile long run on a Sunday morning when I felt pain in my foot.  It was a sharp pain, one that I hadn’t felt before, and I tried to push through it.  I was only 7 miles in when I felt the pain, and by 8 1/2 miles, I had to call my mother-in-law and ask her to come and pick me up.  I was limping and crying in pain.  I still don’t know how I injured myself, truthfully.  All I remember was the pain was severe.

I took a week and a half off from running after that, and that was the hardest thing to do because I knew my race was coming up quickly.  I knew I only had a few weeks left of training.  But I did it because I had to listen to my body (and my husband convinced/made me).

I was so worried I would get out of shape in that week and a half off.  However, fast forward to today, and I ran 13.5 miles as my last long run before my race next Sunday.  13.5 miles!  The farthest I have ever run, and I did it despite the setbacks I occurred with training.  That is a great, indescribable feeling.  Not only that, but I came in with a half-marathon time of 1:59:31 when my half-marathon time in 2017 was about 2 hours and 18 minutes or so.  I crushed it.

I’m hoping all of the hard work with this training will pay off next weekend.  I’m really looking forward to my race, and, if I’m being honest, giving my body a break from running all the time and cross-train instead.

So, despite having a breakdown a few months ago and wondering if I’d be able to run a half-marathon again, I proved myself wrong by running more than a half-marathon and crushing my time from my last race.  What an incredible feeling!

Have you ever trained for any race, whether it was a 5k or a marathon or anything in between?  Did you ever notice how much you were improving or did you only notice when you looked back at your training regiment?  Let me know in the comments below.

Until next time,

Emily

Little Victories

Hey everyone!  It has been quite some time since I’ve written anything on this blog of mine.  I hope all is well with you!  If you’re still following me- thank you!

These past few months have been a whirlwind.  Between going through months of physical therapy for my hip and our dog running away from his sitter while my husband and I were on our anniversary trip, things have been nothing short of crazy.

But despite all that, I’m still celebrating little victories.

1. I’m able to run again!  Thanks to about four months of PT for my hip, I can now run on my own again.  My hip was so bad that I would wake up in the middle of the night in pain.  Now that it’s feeling better, I do think I’m a little over-eager.  I really want to run a half before the end of the year, but I really don’t think my hip can handle that at this point.  But I’ve been able to run up to 2 miles so far again so I’m definitely on the right track.  My next step is to be able to run a 5K or two before the end of the year.  Possibly even a 10K.  We’ll see how the hip does!
2. I celebrated my one-year wedding anniversary!  Granted, it was spent driving down to Myrtle Beach, but we left early enough that we could still enjoy the pool and great food once we made it there safely!  It was also so much fun trying to find which “paper” gift to get Kyle, albeit semi-difficult because my budget was only so high and there was so much I wanted to get him!  I ended up getting him a rare comic book and he got me a writing notebook and another writing journal that we can both fill out about our relationship/marriage.  But seriously, how has it been a year?  And PSA: one-year-old wedding cake is terrible!
3. We got our dog back!  This is another whole (terrible) adventure in itself.  In summary, I had never been so tired and had never felt so hopeless than I did during the ten days he was gone.  What was worse is that we were on day four of our anniversary trip when we found out Oakley got loose.  But I learned not to give up hope AND to enjoy the little things, even if that means not getting frustrated when Oakley wakes us up at ungodly hours to go outside.  I truly hope that none of you will ever experience anything like that because it was terrible and heartbreaking and the worst thing that has ever happened in my life.
4. I’m writing again.  Okay, so I haven’t been writing on here, but I HAVE been writing and that’s clearly an improvement.  I’ve come down with the inspiration bug over the last few weeks and I even have a few ideas in the works for short stories that I plan on submitting to competitions.  We’ll see what happens with those, but I’m very excited about the ideas!
5. I’m a preferred writer.  As of today, I became a “preferred writer” for one of the client’s on the site BlogMutt who I freelance write for, and they gave me five stars on the article I wrote for them.  I honestly couldn’t be more thrilled!  This is just a small victory in terms of my writing career, but all the little victories will lead me in the right direction!

What small victories are you celebrating today?  Let me know in the comments below!

5 Simple Ways to Unwind After a Stressful Day

Stressful days are not unknown, nor are they uncommon, especially to young adults struggling to get to where they want to be in life.  The past few weeks have been particularly stressful for me due to wedding planning as well as a full workload at my day job.  However, I try not to let my stresses get the best of me.  Here are some of my favorite ways to unwind after a stressful day:

1. Sit out on your porch and get fresh air.  Or, if you don’t have a porch, sit under a tree or on a bench or wherever is most comfortable for you.  There’s something about sitting outside and breathing the fresh air that does wonders for me.  Listening to the birds chirp and the nature around tends to calm all of my worries/stresses.  Ironically, as I write this I’m currently sitting outside on my apartment balcony and I can easily tell you I’m feeling much better than I was earlier today.
2. Read a book.  I know not all of my followers probably read, but sometimes it’s just nice to get away from your life and live someone else’s.  By reading, I escape into another world and focus solely on those characters rather than what’s happening in my life.  I disregard all of my previous stresses of the day and instead attempt to solve the puzzle in the protagonist’s life.
3. Watch TV and drink wine.  If you’re not really into books that much, pick a new show on Netflix or find something on cable to watch, and kick your feet up and relax.  I normally watch one or two hours of TV per day and during that time I try not to work on anything else or even think about anything that’s left on my to-do list.  I normally always pair watching TV with a glass of wine because what’s the harm in that?  Wine helps me to relax, and it makes me tired so I fall asleep easier, which a better night’s sleep would alleviate the stress of being tired the next day.
4. Take a nap.  There is very little that I feel that sleeping doesn’t cure.  Today, for instance, I was so exhausted after my stressful work day that I didn’t feel like exercising or watching TV or cleaning or even writing a blog.  So I took a short 15 minute nap after I got home and I woke up more energized and less stressed.  I was able to finish my workout and now I’m sitting here typing this list up.
5. Exercise.  Last but not least, I love to exercise to alleviate stress.  I know this isn’t for everyone, but exercise does amazing things for my stress levels.  I workout in the evenings for the sole purpose of having the ability to let out all of my frustrations and stresses during my workout.  Using my frustrations and stresses also fuels me and helps me to work out harder and put more oomph into things.  And afterwards I feel more relaxed and calm and am ready to settle in for the rest of the evening.

 

So, after reading this list, are there any things that you do that are the same/that are different than what I do to relax after a long day?  I would absolutely love to hear your thoughts.  Share in the comments below to discuss!

12 Random Facts About Me

In an attempt to make my blog more personal, check out the list below of random facts about me!

1. I’m the youngest child of four, resulting in me being infinitely spoiled by my grandparents as a child and having to learn from my parents at a young age that I, in fact, cannot get everything that I want.
2. Speaking of being the youngest, I always joke about getting the hand-me-down genetics.  To an extent though, I truly do believe it.  I’m only 5 foot half an inch, and I stopped growing in 8th grade.  My two brothers (the oldest two siblings) are both over 6 foot and my older sister is inches taller than me.  So, hand-me-down genetics, right?
3. Being the youngest influenced my parents to bless me with eight names.  Just kidding!  I only have four names but that still confuses everyone- one first name, two middle names, and my last name.  To make matters more confusing, I go by my second middle name.  How?  Two words- my grandma.  She was a saint and helped my parents with me when I was first born (remember, I’m the youngest so my parents were dealing with toddlers and a pre-teen) and she was really in love with the name “Emily,” so when push came to shove, my parents just threw that in after my other middle name because I was the last kid.  I have a hunch that as soon as I was born, my grandma immediately started calling me Emily and that’s how I became stuck with it.  It’s actually a pretty cool story.  Also to note, I have the same name as the royal toddler (Charlotte Elizabeth).  The only difference is the Emily vs. Diana as the second middle name, but I still think it’s pretty cool.
4. I started karate when I was 11.  Chugoku Kenpo Karate, a Japanese style, that literally means “Chinese secret science of the law of the fist and empty hand.”  Also, I was one step away from black belt (in my style, that means a three-striped brown belt) and didn’t move forward to my black belt only because of timing (I was in college, it was difficult to cram all of the testing into summers and holiday breaks).  But I’m very close with my sensei and she’s like a second mom to me.  She’s the first person in the first row on the left.
5. I have done other sports, too!  Karate was my first love, but running is a close second.  I did cross-country and track from middle school through college.  In fact, I just ran my first half-marathon in my hometown last weekend!
   

   

   Two hours and nineteen minutes later…

6. And that handsome man in that picture is my fiancé, who I met in college and have been dating for four years, engaged for two, and who I’m getting married to in just 17 short days!  And in reference to my names that I listed earlier, I told Kyle I was going to hyphenate as a joke to just continue the ridiculous length of my name.
7. Speaking of weddings, I have a kickass pair of heels that I splurged on (treat yo’ self!) but I actually HATE shoes.  I mean I love the heels that I got and I really am looking forward to wearing them, but I hate anything being on my feet, unless they’re sandals where my feet can breathe.  (This means I hate socks, too!). As a side note, when I say “splurge” I really only mean like $60, which is WAY better than what I spend on running shoes (~$100) but it still doesn’t sit well with me to spend that much on one thing.
8. I love walking and running and hiking and traveling to new places.  I’ve been to several states in the US, but I’ve also fortunately had opportunities to travel to England and Germany.  Next on my bucket list: Ireland, Italy, and Switzerland, hopefully!
   

   
9. Here’s a weird one for you that I’m sure not many people can relate to: I HATE cheese.  Absolutely hate it.  Hate the smell, hate the taste, hate the texture.  I’m un-American (my fiancé’s words, not mine).  I’m not sure what happened.  I used to love Mac and cheese as a kid, along with cheesy pizza, but something clicked one day and I gagged when I bit into a previously thought delicious slice of Papa John’s pizza.  To the people who love cheese but cannot have it due to their digestive systems, I’m the worst, and I apologize for my un-Americanness.
10. Speaking of weird things, I have an irrational fear of…..water.  Yep, you read that right.  Whenever I go into a pool, or an ocean, I have to stay in a level where my feet can always touch the ground.  I know what you’re thinking- can you swim, can you tread water?  I can do both of those things.  However, for whatever reason, the moment I’m in a body of water that’s deeper than neck level, I freak out because that’s when I have to be on tippy toes and any further I feel like I’ll drown.  You guys probably think I’m so weird by this point.
11. But something that’s pretty cool and un-weird is my love for tattoos.  I love how the same designs (i.e. Harry Potter tattoos) can mean something completely different to another person, and I love how you can express what you’re feeling on your body.  I have two tattoos, and they’re both for my grandma on my dad’s side who passed away of lung/metastasized breast cancer.  She lived in Texas so I only met her a handful of times before she passed away, but she made a huge, positive impact on my life.  The first tattoo I got was a flower that was designed by my sister.  The second tattoo was from my favorite book, “Slaughterhouse-Five,” and it lists the famous quote, “So it goes…”  My sister and I got that one together in almost the same spot on our bodies.  She has also designed another tattoo from Slaughterhouse-Five with the quote “Everything was beautiful and nothing hurt” in remembrance of my grandparents on my mom’s side (yes, the grandma who gave me my name).  But that is a story for another time.
12. Lastly before this post gets absurdly long, I clean when I’m upset.  Why?  I have no idea.  I supposed it relieves stress?  Any psychologists have any idea why I do this?

 

I’d love to learn about you!  Share a random fact (or several, if you wish), or even rant to me about my un-Americanness in the comments section.  I look forward to reading them!

Throwback Thursday: Getting my Bid

“People ask why I’m in a sorority and I try to explain all the things a sorority is that they cannot see.  A sorority is more than just letters on a sweatshirt, I say.  More than traditional songs, a gold pin, rituals, an obligation, or a way of life.  A sorority is learning about people, a sorority is giving without expecting a return.  A sorority is earning respect from others, as well as for yourself.  A sorority will not solve all your problems.  But I have made good friends and found confidence there to help me take life one step at a time.”

-Unknown

 

I recently wrote a post about how karate changed my life for the better, but my sorority also positively changed my life.  Yes, I’m one of those girls you could have seen on campus proudly wearing letters pretty much every day.  I’m one of those girls who always traveled in a pack (We were jokingly called “the birds” because we “flocked everywhere together”) of girls, no matter if it was to an event on campus, to class, or to dinner.  I was one of those girls who would drive a car packed full of girls or ride in a packed car of girls by laying across my sisters’ laps in the back seat just to make it to the cafeteria on campus and save gas. (Side note: My campus was tiny so this was hardly dangerous and it took two minutes to get from the sorority house to the cafeteria. We also did this to carpool because our cafeteria parking lot was tiny.)

But like the quote says above, a sorority is so much more than its image and its public symbols.  And that’s why I want to talk about my bid night for this throwback Thursday.  It was one of the happiest days of my life, and I’ve never regretted taking the bid once.  It’s easily one of my favorite college memories, and I’m fortunate for having such an amazing college experience because of those women who wanted me to be a part of their sisterhood.

——-

I remember telling my parents, my friends and my family that I was going to go through formal recruitment only a few days before it started my Freshman year in the Spring semester.  Naturally, I had many people who supported me as well as some others who were a little reluctant with my decision and even some who criticized me (though those friendships still remain intact so everything worked out wonderfully in the end).  But that never faltered my decision.

I would be lying if I wasn’t encouraged to become Greek due to shows like Greek (on ABC family…forever one of my favorite shows. Cappie over Evan, obviously) and even movies like House Bunny and Sydney White.  I obviously knew that those movies didn’t always portray realistic situations, but I liked the idea of being a part of something that creates a whole; to create some of my best college memories with a house full of girls who I knew I’d always be able to run to no matter what the case.

I decided to go through with it in January, however, and never attended informal recruitment events in the fall.  Most of the sororities know by the Fall which girls they want to become their sisters, and most freshmen and independent women have an idea of which girls they fit in with the best.  I didn’t have that opportunity.  I definitely went in it blindsided which was definitely nerve wracking.

I was actually incredibly sick during recruitment, too.  I barely made it to Pref Night, which if you’re in a sorority I know you understand how important that round of Formal Recruitment is.  I had over a 100 degree fever on Thursday and slept all day to try to make myself feel better for Pref.  I took so much medicine thanks to the school nurse (Shout out to Momma Carol, who is not only an amazing woman, but who also turned out to be a wonderful adviser for my sorority as well) and by 5 p.m. I was feeling well enough to shower and get myself ready to go to the two houses I decided to visit for the final night.  Bless my recently new friend Katie/my recruitment buddy (and the girl that I would find out a day later would become my sorority sister) who offered me all of the tissues in her purse when she saw me and noticed how sick I was.  If it wasn’t for her, I would have been snotting all over the place, which is hardly the impression I wanted to make.  She was being “sisterly” even before she became my sister.

After a long week of meeting so many girls and seeing so many skits and philanthropies, it was finally Friday.  I was relieved.  After seeing so many houses, I knew exactly where I wanted to be.  Two houses were very, very close in how much I liked them, but I knew the one I felt the most comfortable in.  I knew the one that felt like home.  I knew the one where those girls weren’t just friends; they were sisters.

So, I was finally sitting in a theater full of eager freshman women who were awaiting their bids, their sisters, their families.  When my name was called, I told Katie good luck (we were obviously sitting right next to each other) and I went to the person in charge of Greek life (I won’t mention her name. She was honestly terrible at her job and messed up a lot of people’s bids..although she got mine right) and received my bid from her.  I immediately accepted and ran out the side door of the theater into the welcoming arms of my new Alpha Xi Delta sisters.  Double blue and gold everywhere.  Girls with obnoxious face paint on their face proudly showing off their colors.  I received a fake pink rose (I would receive a real one later) which I would later find out was our beautiful flower. (Side note: totally learned that was our flower during Recruitment Week, but everything happened so fast that it was honestly a blur.)  I was finally home.

And then the fun happened.  Of course, going out to my sisters and getting so welcomed and feeling so loved was a lot of fun, but it was finally the part that I was waiting for.  The last few girls came out to their groups of sisters waiting for them (including Katie, and I obviously freaked out when I found out she was my sister), and then it was time.  Time to run.  It’s tradition at my college to run down the hill by the theater (they recently changed this due to fear of injury) and run to the Greek Hill Stairs to the rest of your sisters awaiting restlessly on the steps.  During this time, all of the Greeks on the stairs are chanting, screaming, singing, dancing, and talking, all while wearing their colors for their sorority or dressed ridiculously. (for example, one of my sisters wore a Pooh suit.  Yes.  Winnie the Pooh.)

So as I ran down the hill, I was somewhere in the middle of the group with Katie, and I kept saying “I SHOULDN’T HAVE WORN JEANS. I SHOULDN’T BE RUNNING. I’M SICK” all between coughs.  I later found out that the rest of my pledge class was sick, too, and our pledge class name was something about the plague or being sickly or something along those lines.

After getting into the house, we took a bunch of different pictures. Pictures of groups of girls who were lavaliered, girls by grade, girls by pledge class, etc.  We learned songs to sing to the frats which we obviously did later that night when they came with their new pledges to our house.  We introduced ourselves to everyone (in case there was anyone missing during the rest of the week) and said why we joined Alpha Xi.  We stayed up late just talking about everything while eating super unhealthy.  It was everything I wanted in a house.

It was a wonderful experience, and I love reflecting back on that night and to where I am now and how far I’ve come.  I’m very lucky to be a part of something so wonderful, and even though I’ve graduated and I’m far away from my Alma Mater, my house, my pledge class, and this memory will forever be in my heart.

 

(My bid night picture of all of my sisters)

 

“Remember Alpha Xi Delta, remember when you’re away….”

 

**Note: The featured image was actually posted by Katie on her Instagram page and it looks at our pledge class picture every year.  It goes Freshman year (top left), sophomore year (top right), junior (bottom left), senior (bottom right).  Our pledge class slowly got smaller due to a few deactivating and a few graduating, but we loved recreating our freshman picture each year and make fun of ourselves because we never knew how to stand.  The sophomore year picture is different only because every year the sophomore class builds a pyramid for their pledge class picture.**

Thankful Tuesday: Being able to run

“Running is the greatest metaphor for life, because you get out of it what you put into it.”

-Oprah Winfrey

I’m going to admit that I take having the ability to walk/run for granted.  It’s one of those things that I’ve always been able to do, so I’ve never thought twice about it.  I also complain about running all the time, and I’m trying to get better with how much I complain each day and what I complain about.  In this case, I should be happy that I have the ability to walk because some people have disabilities and are unable to walk for a variety of reasons.

The featured image is a picture of my sorority family supporting me at my home meet at one point during my college cross-country career.  I was never one of the top competitors (I’m gonna be honest, I’m not very fast); I honestly ran because of my teammates who became some of my best friends and also to stay in shape.  But the reason I started running when I was in middle school was because I loved it and it made me feel so healthy.

During my Freshman year of college, I didn’t do any sports.  Prior to this, I ran competitively in 11th and 12th grade and also in 7th and 8th grade.  But when I was a freshman, I was very unhealthy; I ate a lot of fast food and didn’t exercise any whatsoever because I wanted to be able to manage my college workload without having to worry about sports.  I wanted to change that, so I joined the cross country team in college.

I had a great time with my college cross country team and all of them, along with my coach, pushed me to do my absolute best.  My first year in collegiate running, my coach pushed me ridiculously hard and I was already PRing by September (before hurting my ankle).

Regardless, during my time as a collegiate runner, I often complained about running and having to go to practice everyday, but I miss that atmosphere.  I almost miss having to plan everything around my running schedule versus the other way around.

I recently got a gym membership so I would start working out more often, especially in the winter when it’s too cold for me to run outside (I can’t breathe when it’s too cold), but lately I haven’t been able to run because of always having so much to do.  This week I started my new job and now I’m too exhausted to run (yes, excuses I know), so I have to wait until I get more comfortable in my routine so that I’m not too exhausted and end up having bad workouts.

Anyway, running is my favorite outlet to manage stress and it always feels good to have a good workout, so I can’t wait to get back into it!  I honestly miss running as much as I used to so I’m going to try to change that!

Throwback Thursday: My childhood love

“To practice any art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow.  So do it.”

-Kurt Vonnegut

It was a very chilly Tuesday or Thursday in October 12 years ago when I received an interesting phone call from my best friend, Heather.  She called to see if I would be interested in going to a karate class with her just to watch and to see if I would be interested in joining if I liked it enough.  She said she had gone for the past week and a half and loved it, and she thought I would like it, too.  That was the beginning of it all.

At that time, I was a very shy girl.  I was only 10, I only had a few close friends who I hung out with, and I mainly kept to myself unless someone spoke to me, in which case I answered in a mousy voice.  I looked down when I walked because I wasn’t confident enough to look at people who passed me by.  I didn’t know how I would like being surrounded by complete strangers, but I thought I’d give it a chance because I always thought karate sounded cool.

I got the OK from my parents, even though I was supposed to stay home and help unpack since we recently moved into another house.  Heather picked me up on her way to the dojo (place of practice; gym or school) and we were on our way!

When we got there, I was a little confused.  We showed up to a house in my development and I didn’t quite understand how there was a karate gym in the house.  But sure enough, there was a small one in the basement, and the house was actually owned by a married couple who also participated in karate.  When you entered the basement, there was an area for shoes over to the right and a line of chairs for parents and smaller children to the left.  I took my seat and mainly sat quietly with Heather’s mom Donna while Heather participated.  I immediately fell in love with the style.  I loved everything they did, from their katas (free forms) to their kicks and punches.  I knew that I had to participate.  This was also the first night that I spoke with my Sensei (teacher).

Sensei Donna walked up to me after class and asked if I felt like this would be something I would want to do, and explained the cost and everything with the style.  She also explained everything that makes this style of karate and the school itself unique.  I barely responded to her honestly because I was so shy, but I believed everything she was saying.  I went home that night to speak to my parents and they agreed to let me join temporarily to see if I liked it.  But I fell even more in love once I started, and the rest I suppose is history.

I went through a lot of ups and downs during my 11 years of practice.  They saw me in the most awkward time of my life and still treated me the same.  They became family.  It soon became my outlet whenever I was upset with family issues or stressed over schoolwork.  I somehow managed to do both karate and track/cross-country for a few years, because I refused to give up two things that I loved so much.  I worked my ass off and helped one of my friends get her black belt at 16, the youngest my school would allow students to test for black belt.  When she took her test, she was tested in our dojo here and we had to film it to send it to the head of the style who is located in Nevada.  At the time I was only a yellow belt, and he complimented my style, technique, precision, strength, hard work and discipline, all of which he saw from the video, and I still see that as one of the greatest compliments I’ve ever received.

A lot changed during those 11 years.  I saw many faces come and go, as many students either gave up or couldn’t afford to spend the time or money with the style.  We moved from the small basement to a renovated community building.  I saw many people push through the pain of breaking wood.  I saw several of my friends get over their mind block and pass their tests to get the next belt.  I helped many people advance by helping teach, something that was relatively new to me and completely different to who I used to be.

Truth is, I completely changed during my time practicing karate.  I’m no longer that small, scared little girl who looked down when walking/spoken to/or when speaking to someone.  My confidence grew because of karate.  When other people, especially my Sensei, believed in me, I began to believe in myself.  Some of the younger students even began looking up to me, and that brought so much joy to my heart.  I’m so happy that my love and passion for this sport showed through my performance so that those younger kids felt they could look up to me and want to be like me.  And I feel like this is one of my greatest accomplishments.

In my post from Tuesday, you learned that I’m no longer in West Virginia where my karate school is.  One of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do was to tell them that I was leaving, and I didn’t know when I would be back.  It was different when I went to college; I had breaks throughout the year and summer to count on to work my butt off for 3 1/2 hours every Tuesday and Thursday.  This time I would try to come back as often as I could, but I couldn’t guarantee many visits.  I cried when I told them I was leaving, and I completely lost it when I told my Sensei, who has done more for me in my life than a lot of people have.

As of two or so weeks ago, I found out that my Sensei was closing the dojo.  Things are getting pretty tight with money, and there are some personal things going on in her life that she has to focus on.  I can’t blame her.  I really can’t.  And I don’t.  But seeing that status right before I went to bed broke my heart.  I couldn’t believe that something that meant so much to me and that changed my life so much for the better was suddenly disappearing.  Whenever I come home, it won’t be there.  If I feel like stopping by to work out (I have the code for the building), I won’t be able to anymore.  But I was kindly reminded by my wonderful boyfriend while I was hysterically crying, it’s just a building.  Sure, it holds a lot of precious memories and was basically a place where I grew up, but it’s just that; a place.  I still hold all of those memories within my heart.  The people will be around.  I have most of their numbers or are at least friends with them on Facebook so I can keep in touch.  Whenever I go back to West Virginia, I’ll can always make plans to meet up with them.  So the dojo is gone, but the people aren’t.

I am so completely blessed to have known so many wonderful people during my time practicing karate, and I’ll always hold them close to my heart.  I’m incredibly blessed to have such an amazing family.

The featured image is an old picture that was taken of the adult class the last night before I went to college for my freshman year.  I’m the fourth girl from the left.  The girl not in uniform is my best friend, Heather.  She had some health issues and stopped participating, but I wouldn’t have become who I am today without her calling me up that night and asking me if I wanted to go watch.  The girl directly beside me to the right is the girl who I helped test for her black belt.  The woman at the end on the left is my wonderful Sensei, my second mom, my friend, my mentor, my hero.  I’ll never forget what she taught me, both in karate and in life.

After I learned the news about my dojo closing down, I obviously texted Donna to see how she was holding up and I asked her if there was anything else I could do for her, considering everything she had done for me over the past 12 years.  Her response brought tears to my eyes.  It’s always nice knowing how much you mean to someone and that you’re the reason why they feel successful.

Here are some pictures from my last class before my freshman year of college.  I wish I had more recent pictures for you, but sadly I can’t find any.

My best friend Heather and I. My two friends Lindsey (left) and Vikki (right).Mr. Dave, who always brightened my days with his smile.

Boz (middle), who was like my brother.  Funnily enough, he knows both of my brothers and worked with my mom, so I’ve actually known him since I was about 7 or 8.  Adrian (right) is Mr. Dave’s (above) son, and he grew up to be so well disciplined from karate.  I’m happy to say he’s like the little brother I never had.  I always loved sparring him!

Last but not least, Donna.  My Sensei.  One of the most wonderful and kind people I have ever met, and did anything and everything she could to help me out as best as she could.

Because Donna is having such a rough time, one of the more recent additions to my dojo family, Sarah, created this page to donate money to help her out during this rough period of her life, and to say thank you for everything she has done for us.  If you even have just a dollar, every donation would help.  Don’t feel like you have to donate anything.  I don’t want to pressure you.  But I do hope you understand how important karate is to me, and how Donna has changed me and my life for the better.  The link is here for you to look at.  If you don’t want to donate or don’t have the money, don’t feel like you have to.  I won’t be upset if you don’t donate.

If you read all the way through this, thank you.  I hope that you’ll share a story about something that you love as much as I love karate, or a sport that you were as passionate about, or even just about a family that you gained that has improved your life for the better.