posted on December 21, 2018
I believe this will be our last blog post of 2018, and the theme that comes to mind is gratitude.
Our staff had a (personally) challenging year- in summation:
I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis in 2017 and it’s still challenging me through 2018. Lindsey is dealing with her own auto-immune issues and is working toward remedying some symptoms she’s overlooked in the past. Alison had a new baby and came back to the gym with a new chip on her shoulder (sorry morning crew). Ryan moved across the country and also found a way to give himself rhabdo. And Alexa just graduated college. Deep breath…that’s a lot…and it felt like a lot. But we grew- literally and figuratively. Our staff is getting bigger, growing stronger, and hopefully becoming better versions of our previous selves.
I asked our staff to send me a couple quick notes on some things they are grateful for from this year. For better or worse, here is what I got back:
Lindsey
This has been one of my most challenging and most fulfilling years. I am most grateful for my closest friends, who love me and support me but also push me to grow and be a better human.
Aaaand I’m grateful for my little dog, who never leaves my side even when I wish he would.
Alexa
Oh geeze. What am I grateful for…
I think it’s safe to say that 2018 was a big year for many of us. A big growth year. I graduated, something that is very bittersweet for me. I got engaged. And I started my journey at Union Fitness. I am going to pick one thing though because Casey wanted this to be quick…and since I am coming up on my one year I am choosing my job at Union Fitness. I am so grateful for this. I have met many intelligent and generous human beings. Union Fitness has given more to me than they even know. I walked in humble and introverted as usual. Willing to learn, shut off my ego, and keep playing student.
But over months I have cried, opened up, and developed many relationships. I was given the opportunity to write a blog on a topic that is very personal and dear. This was a huge moment for me. I am best at expressing myself via writing and their belief in me to do so was empowering.
I am also grateful for the clients I work with. Being able to help people through training, bettering their relationship with their body, and connecting with them on a personal level is what genuinely lights up my heart.
I’ll cut this here. I just want to say
thank you Casey and to the UF staff for bringing me into UF and always believing in me.
Alison
Ryan
I’m grateful for my friends and family.
(I called him out and said “seriously, that’s the best you can do?”)
So he came back to me with-
I’m grateful for cookies, and tacos, and banana bread bro.
Also the opportunities that were given to me this year.
(You earned them, bro.)
Casey
I’m grateful for the trials and tribulations that 2018 has brought to my doorstep- both welcomed and unwelcome. I’m not one to be content with anything, for better or worse. I’m learning that being content in certain areas of my life doesn’t necessarily equal complacency. My experience with U.C. has been the most difficult thing that I’ve personally dealt with, and the thing that I have grown the most from. It’s funny to say this, but I’m grateful for my diagnosis. It has forced me to slow down. It has forced me to value my health (when I have it). It has forced me to shift my perspective in so many ways that I would have never experienced otherwise.
And, to be cheesy, I’m grateful for Union Fitness. I get to come into ‘work’ everyday and help people get stronger. My aim has been and always will be to teach anybody that walks through the doors and is willing, how to become the strongest version of themselves possible. But not through spoon feeding- through engagement and empowerment. This is your journey- and it’s not about the weights. It’s about overcoming your former self. Transcendence through challenging what you thought maybe was not possible. Think about the best version of yourself that you can be (and want to be) and go be it. There is nothing stopping you other than the excuses you keep telling yourself. Make 2019 whatever you want it to be…because you can.
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