August 2021

Let me start off by saying I am sorry it has been so long. I can’t believe that it has been a year since I have wrote anything. I let COVID restrictions get me in a funk and I slowly stopped working on passion projects. I went from thriving to surviving. It has been a roller coaster of a year with things constantly getting better then getting worse again. Never knowing what the next week was going to bring. I know this pandemic has been hard on everyone. Mental health is always a challenge to maintain and this past year and a half has put that into the spot light for people all around the world.

Although I have been rather quiet this last year; I have been on quite the personal journey!

In October I realized my health was in the dumps and that I was the heaviest I had ever been. I started to make changes on my own, but was not really getting any where. In December, I decided it was time to call in reinforcements and hire a personal trainer. I knew with COVID, I didn’t want to go to gym since the requirements were constantly changing and what I needed more than anything was consistency. I had been following Amanda Chu for years on instagram and loved her style. So I reached out to Set The Standard Fitness and got started. It sure hasn’t been easy but I have made a significant amount of progress. Overall, I am down almost 30 pounds, 4% body fat and am the strongest I have been since before my injury.

During this journey I have came to terms with there are other areas of my health that I need help with. Now going to the doctor while living in Japan isn’t easy. Mental health is really hard to get help with out in town and my group is bottom of the priority list on base. I got the run around in the beginning but I continued to advocate for myself and go to appointment after appointment but I got an amazing doctor that was willing to listen to me about what all was going on. With some trial and error, we came up with a treatment plan that is working and I couldn’t be more grateful.

I am someone that always believe to try natural methods before medications. A lot of things can be helped by making lifestyle changes, using things like essential oils and vitamins and taking time to take care of yourself. However, once you have tried those things and are still coming up short, it is time to get professional help and find out if there is something in the modern medicine world to help.

Since starting this journey my life feels more in control that it has since well I don’t know if it has ever been in this much control. When we moved to Japan, I told Kenney I wanted to learn how to surf. It has always been something I have been interested in but where we live in the states, it wasn’t really an option. The ocean is about a 3 hr drive from the house and it is COLD. Kenney was rather worried about my back with a sport like surfing, so we made a deal. If I strengthened up my back and got my daily pain under control, I could try it out and see how my body held up. Well earlier this summer, I hit the point were I felt comfortable physically learning to surf. After a lot of searching I found a surf school in Chigasaki, that was bilingual. A few weeks later, I started lessons and I fell in love with surfing. There is something incredibly calming yet exhilarating about being on a board in the water, paddling into a wave and riding it. Now, all I want to do is go surfing.

Although the last year has had its challenges, it was a year vital to continue to grow into the person I am meant to be. I will continue to work on myself, my happiness, my health, my relationships and in turn my success continues to blossom. The most important lesson to remember in life, is no matter how rough it gets; Keep moving forward!