Talk About Amazing

Talk about feeling excited, this is amazing.  You're flipping, spinning, twisting through the air so fast you can’t tell which way is up. It’s exhilarating to know what this feels like. When I look at this picture, I see so much more that what at first meets the eye. I don’t just see the gymnastics gold medalist Hollie Dykes doing some sort of a back full, I see beyond that. I see a girl so nervous she feels like crawling in a cave and staying there, but also so excited and happy that she wouldn’t miss this moment for the world. A girl who knows that the rest of her gymnastics career depends on this one tumbling pass. If she lands it, she could win gold… if she has a crash landing or forgets one tiny, miniscule detail of the flip, it could all go up in flames and not only would she knock herself out of any chance of getting a good score, but she would also ruin her teams' chances for winning. I know what this feels like. Granted, I’ve never before competed in the Olympics, but the rush of emotions before every meet is the same, only escalated for the larger ones.
Having the ability to control your body that precisely and being that strong is a joy that sadly most people don’t get to experience. Being in gymnastics is more that just running around dancing in a leotard, it’s an extremely physically and emotionally demanding way of life that can show and teach you things that you’d never even imagine was possible. Pshh, talk about amazing.

My Day at the Beach

If there was ever heaven on Earth, this has to be it. The softly cashing waves hitting the sandy shore, the bright, shining, last single golden ray of dazzling light slowly threatening to duck underneath the ever distant horizon of endless blue, and the warmth of the blinding white sand surrounding me. As I stand here silently, unable to move even if I wanted to, the quiet sound of a hopeful, anxious young man proposing to his only love with subdued eagerness floats my way carried by the humid, salty, ocean air. Over all this, the gentle roar of music comes from a nearby restaurant, sweeping me away with it. The calmness that seems to linger in the air takes away every last worry I’ve ever had and leaves me with complete content.

Journey Back to Life

Life is a beautiful thing. Living life is about being able to love, hope, and dream, not just eat, sleep, walk, and talk.
    When I think about things that could destroy my life, things that would make me have no hope or dreams for a future, many thoughts pop into my head. Thoughts of losing my friends or family, of not having a house, of moving far away...but never of obesity. In the short video, "Prepare to be Inspired," I came to a sudden realization of how hard an obstacle obesity is to overcome.
    You know, nobody thinks that they will grow up to be very overweight and feeling helpless when they are four. Nobody thinks that something as simple as being a few extra pounds overweight could lose you something as dear as a friendship or earn you a broken heart.  
In this video, this man feels like he has lost everything in life, and that he has no purpose. But then, towards the end of the video, I can feel him gaining extraordinarily higher feelings of hope. I got to see how he gained his life back, and it brings me such a great sense of joy, I can’t explain it.
    Even though this man’s journey back to life was amazing and awe-inspiring, it’s something I feel confident I don't want to put myself through. Since watching this, I have decided that I will not hurt or take my body for granted and I will try my hardest to not let my loved ones do the same.
    But then again, who knew something that miraculous could begin with just one step?