Goodbye 2021!

2021….  What a year!

We can all sit around and think of all the bad things that happened in this year.

Just like 2020, but I really want to focus on the good that came from it.  We weren’t on a mandatory lockdown, kids were able to go back to school, we were able to go back to work. It was the little bit of normalcy that we all needed!

I hate that this is our new normal, but it is what it is.

What I loved about 2021 is the growth that I had.

 Physically, I started a new gym. A CrossFit gym at that. Something that I never thought I’d do. My old gym closed in 2020 and I was completely devastated. Besides running, what else was I going to do? I didn’t do much but run in 2020. But when my best friend decided to follow her dreams and open her own CrossFit gym, my world changed.

I never in my life thought I’d like it.  The way she coaches with so much passion and truly caring about her athletes and them learning the correct form, to make sure everyone learns the correct way, was everything I needed. I’ve met so many new friends from this experience and we have all already grown to be a family.

My business grew even more than I ever imagined it would! I love what I do, and I love being able to help people with their nutritional needs. I love meeting a client who is picky and thinks they can never eat healthy, walking them slowly through the process and seeing them blossom into this new person that they never thought they could be. Seeing them gain confidence from being able to do something that they never thought they could do is exactly why I do what I do.

I love helping in all areas of wellness but nutrition and people who struggle to stay consistent with it, is where my passion lies.

Seeing my podcast grow and it being currently globally ranked in the top 10% of podcasts has been mind blowing to me! I love meeting these professionals and interviewing them and being able to provide my listeners with the education that could be lifechanging to someone. I’m so passionate about all areas of wellness and to see how all these different areas all tie back to food, is so interesting to me. Our nutritional intake is so important, I will always spread awareness and help to educate people on this.

So many situations arose that made me stronger than I ever thought I could be. Grief was a new thing that I experienced. Even though I had lost my dad at a young age, I have to say losing people close to me as an adult was even harder. I don’t think I fully understood grief until this point of my life. Most don’t know, but I lost my brother in May 2021. There’s something different about losing a sibling, and you’re only sibling at that. Even though we didn’t talk often, there’s that closeness that we once shared and the childhood we had together that no one else would ever understand except him. It left me feeling very alone as weird as that sounds.  Many people did not understand him, or the way his brain worked, or the decisions that he made, but I always loved him and always strived to learn to understand him. He’s one of the reasons that I’m so passionate about mental health. It gets overlooked way too often.

Grieving my father-in-law along with my husband, watching he and his family suffer this past year was extremely hard and really put relationships around me to the test. It made me stronger in a weird way. I had to be there for my grieving husband all while I was grieving too. I had to do the same for my mom.

There are so many weird stages of grief that a person goes through and in my position, you must be a support system for it all. I have dealt with so many weird emotions surrounding grief this past year. I lost 2 other people very close to me in 2020 also, which just added to it all.

If you’re dealing with grief yourself, just know I am here for you and I understand.

I’m coming out of 2021 stronger than I’ve ever been. I didn’t think that was possible. My relationships around me have grown, I’m reaching my goals and setting new ones, I’m tackling anything that comes my way. Hard times hit me just like anyone else, but it’s how you respond to those that makes all the difference. I keep moving forward. Times are tough right now for a lot of people, but mindset is everything!

I’m so thankful for this life that I’m living and everyone in it. I’m glad I get to live my life doing what I love and helping so many people along the way! My family is everything to me and they truly keep me motivating to keep pushing forward. Knowing that my daughter can see me push through everything thrown my way all while still trying to spread kindness and love, I hope she is taking it all in and learning.

I hope everyone has a great 2022 and you strive to keep a healthy mind and body in whatever way works best for you!