How did I get here?

Happy Hump Day!

It's time to switch gears! With all the recent baby talk, setting up doctors appointments, filling out countless medical forms... I'm ready to switch gears! I have been doing a lot of reflecting lately and couldn't help but ask myself...
How did I get here?

I will never forget being a miserable, freshman engineering student at Purdue University in the fall of  2004. I never thought much about "what I wanted to be when I grew up" because so many people told me, "You would be a great engineer." I mean, I did love math and enjoyed learning about science. I was in the top 20 of my class (of only 117) and had followed the typical "path to success." Most of my family went to Purdue and I grew up a Boilermaker. What I naively came to quickly realize was that...

1. Engineering at Purdue is not easy, at all.

2. My brain doesn't work like the brain of an engineer.

To say I was miserable my first semester at Purdue is an understatement. I cried EVERYDAY. Seriously. (My mom has kept most of the pathetic emails I sent begging for her to come pick me up to come home.. for good LOL) After I realized I was stuck at Purdue for at least a year, I spent nearly every night looking up different majors. For the first time in my college career, I started really thinking about what I wanted.. what would make ME happy? The night I stumbled upon Health and Fitness was like my Oprah- "AHA moment!"

I remember asking myself, "I can get paid to workout and help others achieve their goals?!?" COUNT ME IN!! I immediately switched majors at the beginning of my second semester and haven't looked back since.

My journey in this profession has allowed me the opportunity to work in many different settings and states. I started out as a Personal Trainer at a small fitness center in Raleigh, North Carolina called Forever Fitness in June 2008. My experience here was one that has yet to be topped. I had such a fun work environment and met so many amazing people, including my best friend, Michelle, and her husband Todd!

My first day at Forever Fitness in June 2008!

Michelle & Todd: Love them! :)

I lived life to the fullest. I made tons of mistakes, but I wouldn't change a single thing about it.  I learned so much in my first two years that set me up for success as I ventured all the way to the Windy City of Chicago in May 2010. I love the fast-paced, busy lifestyle. There is never a dull moment and I was reunited with all three of my college roomies- Sara, Mal, and Dharma :) My love for Chicago didn't help the expensive cost of living and after working two jobs for 10 months and 7 days a week..I decided it was time to come back home to Indy. 

Working at Pure Vibes Fitness in Chicago in 2010 :)

When I arrived back at home, I was lost. I had just left a toxic relationship, didn't have a job lined up, and was back to living with my parents at the age of 25. I worked to cover my bills as a part-time server and beverage cart girl at the Brickyard Crossing during the warm summer months while I took my prerequisites to apply to the University of Indianapolis for my Master's in Occupational Therapy. 

 Everything changed on May 1st, 2011. 

Barry and I's first picture! May 1st, 201

Barry and I had known each other for awhile. We first met when I was in college and he was teaching at Speedway. I was working at the Brickyard Crossing as the cart girl and he was working as a cart barn boy over the summer ;) We had exchanged some back and forth comments which always left me with butterflies in my stomach, but we were at two completely different points in our lives. After our summer of working together, I returned to Purdue to finish my senior year and he continued to teach and coach at Speedway. I would occasionally run into him when I would be home from North Carolina. At a friends Christmas party in 2009, we talked for hours, but again, the timing wasn't right and we continued living our lives hundreds of miles apart.

 When he walked into the Buffalo Wild Wings that Monday evening in May, I remember the butterflies quickly returning. I was just finishing up my shift and decided to stay after and hang out with some friends of mine, just a couple tables away from Barry. (I'm no dummy!) It didn't take long for him to come over and join us. After some awkward flirting on my end, I was "showing him how to use his iPhone" and put my number in there (smoooooth, I know) We went out that Friday and have been together ever since.

In the process of finding the love of my life, everything in my career seemed to come together easily. Speedway opened up it's first gym, Anytime Fitness, and I was able to come on board as a Personal Trainer in May 2012 after deciding not to attend graduate school. (Paying off student loan debt for the next 20 years didn't excite me!) I'm now a Health Fitness Specialist with NIFS and loving the change to corporate fitness. I'm also building my Advocare business and looking forward to starting our family :)

Life is good. 

I am very blessed. 

Anytime Fitness Speedway Run or Dye Group

Barry and I enjoying our day in the Advocare suite at the track!