"Bigger arms", my coach yells from across the grassy loop. "How many more laps are we going to run?", I think to myself. My legs are numb from running this familiar circuit. I decided to just stay close to my teammate. He will carry me through the rest of this workout. Don't think, just run. I turn the corner and run the rest of the way down the trodden path to the finish. My lungs are burning, and my feet are sore from the uneven "grassy loop" course. And yet, I am obsessed. Obsessed with this feeling of hard work. I look over to my coach and she smiles. It wouldn't matter how fast or how hard I went; she always gives me a smile after a hard workout like today. Funny enough, my coach is also my mom. What a fun dynamic, some would say. To me, it was a special bond. Having her as my coach meant the never-ending talk of cross country and pushing our limits both on and off the course. It was all I ever knew. Running was our lives. However, I never realized how much of a leader my mother was throughout my whole running career which spanned from the fourth grade to high school senior. As long as that may seem, I realized what my mother had been teaching me. Through her example, the leadership aspects of my life can be attributed to her. I came to understand that it wasn't through being a leader that I found out what being a leader meant. Rather, I learned from the day-in and day-out of living with a leader. I understand now that it is through living with the leaders in our lives that we realize what is required to be one. My mom is many things. A coach, an athlete, a grandma, passionate, a true light. But she is a leader. She isn't a leader through her words or even her bold actions. Rather, she has taught me that a leader wants to be involved. A leader wants to be a part of what they are leading whether that is a cross-country team, a family, or a community. We are all called to be leaders but, an involved leader is what sets even the best ones apart. I look up and my mom is standing at the start line. "Let's go again, I'll run it with you", she says. A bittersweet start for all of us, with my coach in the front, but it ends with the strongest finish that we could have run. All thanks to her.

It was breathtakingly cold. The first thought in my head was to push through the initial pain. It will get better soon. But first, I had to actually swim. I had been training for a whole year for this triathlon and here I was, in the cold water at seven in the morning, breast-stroking for my life. The amount of hours I had spent in the pool this past year, working on getting stronger in the water, was being testing. I was a fish out of water in this lake. I forced myself to put my face in the water and in doing so, yelled underwater from how cold the water felt on my face. One, two, three, breathe. One, two, three, breathe. Repeat. This was my only thought in the water. This is where it counted. All I had to do was to get to the pink buoy. Just as I was beginning to settle into a rhythm, a little wake went straight into my mouth as I took a side-breath. This stunned me and was the final blow. I was falling apart. What was I doing here? What was I thinking? This was my first triathlon and understandably so, I didn't know what I had gotten myself into. Then, out of nowhere, I caught a glimpse of my sister cheering me on. This snapped me out of my self pity. I instantly felt adrenaline warm my body and swam like I had practiced. It was just water and I was more than capable. Capable of swimming to the pink buoy. Capable to finish my first triathlon without stopping. Now, I feel proud of myself for not allowing the outside environment, something I can't control, guide my train of thought and shut me down. I won.

I have just stepped out of my bus. I get in my car that is parked right next to my home and drive to a job that I don't consider as work. I love working as a physical therapist. Many experiences and hard work in my life have led to me finally achieving the dream of helping people through movement and mechanical prescription. I have traveled to several states, experiencing the landscapes and small towns and their personalities in my bus. The bus has been built to my exact vision to what I wanted my mobile home to be. It is a reflection of my life, my struggles, my achievements, my hard work, and persistence to the process. Now, I enjoy being part of the CrossFit community and helping the cause for health and wellness. It is an honor to be a coach and medical professional at the same time. I have taken the classes, I have attended the seminars, and I have helped make the world a better place along the way. These are my goals as I envision them in real time. Really placing myself in the scenarios when the "why" starts making its curious presence known is my personal way of staying true to my goals and dreams.

I can only explain how simple pleasures of life and how they make me happy with an explanation of growth. When we experience struggle and dark times in our lives, we come to understand that it is the little things in life that brings us the most joy. During the beginning of 2021, I fell into a depressive state rooted in the figuring out of my identity. My depression resulted in horrible habits of isolation, self-harm, and other forms of self hate. This hate for who I am because of the influence of the environment that I grew up in had brought me to such a low point in my life. It was only through consistent talking and finding people close to me to share my struggle, that I rose out of this state of sadness. I started small. Driving to work or school everyday brought me to enjoy the sunrise and sunset. Many times I pulled off on the side of the road at the top of the little hill before my house just to sit on the hood of my car and soak in the rays of sun. I was so thankful in those moments. So thankful to be alive and to experience the bliss of gazing at the warm sunset. I started to find joy in running. I started to find joy in the little gusts of wind that would cool my face and body. I started to find joy in my nieces and nephews. Their innocents and joy overflowed into my personality. When I finally was able to look above the water in which I was drowning, I was finally able to see the sun.

Image waking up with a smile on your face. You climb out of bed with alacrity, ready to go to work. You have always loved having your hands full so waking up to a day of work excites you. You start your day with some morning meditation and start grinding the coffee beans you had just bought. Pouring those in your aeropress, you stare out of your bus window. Everyday you wake up proud of the endless hard work you have put into this bus that you now call home. The bus was always something that you dreamed living in since you were in middle school. You finish brewing your morning coffee and get ready to go. You grab all of your materials, step outside, and set of in your car to work. You work for yourself in a private practice physical therapy treatment center. You have created many solid relationships with your clients that you help every week. The early morning starts have always been your favorite so this morning feels like normal. You love waking up before much of the day has started for most people and take the time to meditate as you get ready to help your clients for today. Every year you take two separate times off to go and travel in the bus. The bus allows you to work remotely while still being able to see what the world has to offer on its grand surface. You have been to most of the United States and plan to venture out farther. Maybe go to Patagonia or Quebec you never know. The roads and adventures are endless. You have made it your mission to always be seeking something bigger than yourself. Every day you wake up with a purpose; something to strive towards.

"She wrote a book?", I said to my sister who was explaining Katrin Davidsdottir's new published work. Initially, you might ask, "Who is Katrin Davidsdottir?" In the CrossFit world, she is known as the two-time fittest woman on earth in 2015 and 2016. Her book is about the road to her championship wins at the CrossFit Games. These Games are the ultimate proving ground for the fittest man and woman on earth. Her book equals her journey. This book is my personal favorite because it gives a detailed account of her grueling work ethic, her unique, sisterhood-like relationship with her coach and competitors, and her life story. A story that finds itself on the competition floor after being crowned the fittest on earth. In this moment of being announced the fittest she recalls something that I keep close to heart and remember in my daily life. I recall it on my own competition floor, the cross-country course, while I'm working to coach swim classes, or when I'm just having a challenging day. She says, "There is no destination that we can ever arrive at. There is no end point, just constant improvement. We work to become the best, and right now, it's time to get strong." This quote and its idea of constantly seeking to improve yourself even though you might have met the finish line or to the end of a challenging day. Self Improvement still calls for continuous action, doing the little things right, over and over again each and everyday. Greatness, she says, is bred through consistent action. This book and its message is my favorite because ultimately, it tells a bigger picture than just a success story.