{Tell us something you love about yourself.}

My attitude to win. Ever since I was a young chap on the softball field, it has been drilled into me that winning is the most desirable end point anyone could ever work towards. Although “winning” looks different for me now than it did when I was whipping the softball around the field years ago, my desire to work hard, to achieve the biggest and scariest things, and to play with the seemingly insurmountable odds is something that I absolutely love about myself. Although success in every situation isn’t always achieved in the way I visualize it, I do know that I bring everything I’ve got up to the plate for that burning desire to win is fueling me at the core.

{What is your favorite physical feature?}

I really love my nose, and my nose ring (although not biologically natural). Those two things, remind me of one of my earliest memories of hard work and accomplishment. When I was fourteen, I begged my parents to get my nose pierced, and after a indomitable effort by my parents, we struck a deal: if I was able to pitch a perfect game against the next team we played against, I would be able to get my adorned piercing. Well, I learned at a very early age that we should all be so very careful what we put out in the universe because the next game, I came collecting after a perfect game against Oak Grove’s Varsity softball team (as a sophomore).

{What is something you used to dislike about yourself that you have now come to appreciate?}

Many would think that my sixty extra pounds I used to carry would be the “something” I would dislike about myself, however, my weight never affected me when I was growing up and it wasn’t until I allowed others words, approval, and actions affect me that I began to loathe the way I looked. Over the years, I have been in this dynamic struggle with approval: both with myself and others. From letting people in too soon, or not letting anyone really in at all, I have never been consistent with my own self in the sense of my own voice, feelings, and personally when in different relationships. Some can divert it back to self esteem issues due to my weight, but the confidence I have lacked in the past in my relationships is something that I used to literally hate about myself. From being taken advantage of to not putting even a morsel of myself into different relationships and becoming completely detached from the people around me, I have realized that my lack of a backbone has played a huge role in my own self-image. However, by recognizing that weakness and really learning through the trials and tribulations, I can now look back on the silent, closed off, and vulnerable person I once was and realize that the emptiness of a true self-esteem and self-image has aided me to grow into a woman who prides herself on her ability to take a stand for her word, her wants, her needs, and goes at it with both feet in the water in any given situation.

{What is your proudest accomplishment?}

Winning the 2005 CCS Championship at Archbishop Mitty. That season, we were a team filled of “nobody’s”, underclassman, and a brand new coach. However, unbenounced to everyone else, we did it seamlessly and with only one loss the entire season. Personally, I was a sophomore who pitched nearly every game that season and my record was fifteen wins and no losses as a pitcher with a batting average above three hundred for the entire season. After striking the last batter out that game and realizing what had just happened, everything went silent, and for that one moment, I was basking in a moment of glory, shock, and euphoria. For that split second (which was broken by my catcher running to me and picking me up in joy): nothing mattered. I realized what hard work, motivation, perseverance, and dedication to something bigger than yourself looks like because that moment (that entire season) embodied every single aspect of those attributes. That was the moment I was able to put actions to the word accountability, could put a promise to the word commitment, and started a relationship with my personal best.

{Tell us about your style. What type of outfit do you feel the most like yourself in?}

Although the majority of the time you’ll see my in my lululemon attire (wunder under crops, power y tank in some kind of vibrant color), Rainbow sandals, and a messy bun, my ultimate favorite look is as follows: colorful shorts, loose and flowy top accented by a colorful bando or bra, wedges, and a thick, beady necklace with my hair down and curly. This is my favorite (and often seen) outfit if I am not rocking the everyday workout look .

{List your top three favorite things to do?}
1. Workout (whether this is running, FNS, walking, yoga)
2. Vision boarding and goal coaching
3. Crossing a finish line at a race

{What makes you the happiest?}

I am happiest when visualizing my future. Yes, time is of the essence and the present (for lack of a better cliche) is a gift, but I love seeing and knowing where I am going. With the amount that I vision board, revisit my goals, and check in with myself, I get butterflies knowing that everything the universe is giving me right now are all stepping stones, hurdles, and circles of fire to get me to wherever I am meant to be. I get wrapped up thinking about my babies running around my home with my handsome husband walking through the door after his long day at work. I get exhausted thinking about the amount of meetings I have in hopes to make a difference with my life’s work. I find myself at peace knowing that everything is happening for a reason and I am the luckiest girl alive.

{How do you find your motivation to workout?}

My motivation is not gripped by the version of myself that was once sixty pounds heavier, but liberated from the chains of excuses I had for eighteen years of never really having a grasp of my health. On July 6, 2006, I was given a choice of leading the life I was, or taking on a new lifestyle that would make such drastic but positive changes. On July 6, 2006, tapped into that relationship with my personal best, with the power of commitment, and realized I was worth my best health and no one was going to get me there, but myself. So, my motivation lies vested in that promise to myself six years ago: to never go back and that I was and still AM worth it.

{How do you maintain a healthy lifestyle between work, school, family, social life etc.?}

Piggy-backing off of the last question regarding my motivation to workout, I find myself maintaining this lifestyle because, I want to. Anybody has the power of choice and if you want ANYTHING badly enough, you WILL get it and you WILL achieve it. Has this been easy? No. Have there been more instances of struggle and hard work than smooth sailing? Absolutely. However, this lifestyle, as crazy as it comes across, has given me a life I didn’t have for eighteen years. That’s enough to keep me on the path of no return, and for me, makes everything justifiable because at the end of the day, all we have is ourselves and without our health, what’s left?

{What is your main goal you are reaching towards in the next 6 months?}

In six months I want to be teaching yoga to children in local elementary schools. On August 20th, I start a whole new chapter of my life with the non profit Bay Area Women’s Sports Initiative, where I will be going into local elementary schools and bringing health and fitness into little girl’s lives, that may otherwise never have that kind of opportunity. This is the power of one’s lifework. I want to be held accountable that with every day I make myself better, I am bettering the lives of those around me (whether less fortunate or not). We are a part of a society where the power of plenty surmount anything, and who would I be if I held onto all of my vigor for life and never attempted to share it with those around me. So for the next sixth months, I am going to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity I have with bringing health and fitness in children, continue to undergo yoga teacher training, make the necessary connections, but most of all, live each day creating and following through with my lifework.