So when I graduated high school (earning the “Future Teacher” Scholarship at commencement), I thought I had my entire life figured out.  I would go to college, become a teacher, get married, have kids, teach for 35 years, and live happily ever after. Check ALL the boxes! And stick to that path.  So I thought!

I went to Penn State University and earned my degree in Elementary Education.  I graduated in four and a half years. After graduating in December, I was able to substitute teach until the end of the school year.  I got hired that summer as a second grade teacher. Dream come true.

I absolutely LOVED teaching and worked so hard.  My long hours in the classroom actually started when I was student teaching in first grade.  I took pride in my hard work and loved every single one of my “kids” (AKA students). During my first year of teaching, my now husband proposed to me IN MY CLASSROOM.  I know you’re not supposed to have “favorites,” but seriously I will NEVER forget my very first second grade class. They were an AMAZING group of kids and parents! With my love for teaching, an amazing class, and an incredible surprise proposal in my classroom, it was another dream come true!

With college (hellooooo freshman 15), student teaching, and my first couple years of teaching, that active lifestyle got put on the back burner.  It wasn’t a priority and I didn’t make time for it. Because of that, my body image, self-esteem, energy, and self-confidence plummeted. Although I originally fell in love with group fitness classes when I was in high school, those classes I was attending were few and far between.

When I was engaged to be married, I of course wanted to look my best on our wedding day.  I pretty much had a focus on quick fixes that would help me lose weight and was always worried about the number on the scale and my size.  I didn’t have a plan. I went to the gym and would meander around the free weights and machines. I spent so much time on the elliptica and would take some fitness classes.  I certainly did not have a plan when it came to nutrition. It was more about what I shouldn’t eat, fat free everything, and restricting calories.

But I slowly began to change that mentality a bit before I got pregnant with my first baby.  I started to focus on overall health instead of just losing weight and numbers. I don’t know why, but I always feared having a hard time getting pregnant (fortunately that was not the case).  So I set out to really take care of myself before getting pregnant. I ended up having a really healthy pregnancy and was able to workout all the way until I had my son. I’ll never forget taking a step class the day before Jordan was born!  I think I freaked out just about any man in the gym that saw this nine months pregnant woman walking around the free weights section.

After I had Jordan, I recovered really well (c-section baby) and “bounced back” pretty quickly.  I felt GOOD! That was when I started to not get to the gym like I wanted to once I was cleared. I ended up getting a jogging stroller and started walking/running with Jordan when he was four months old.  I started to fall in love with running and the sense of accomplishment as I added miles on each week. First I decided to run a 5K (no big deal - I had done them before). Then I signed up for my first 10K.  After that I signed up for a half marathon that I would run before Jordan’s first birthday. It got CANCELLED about 8 weeks before the race. At that point I had already gotten up to 10 miles!! Pittsburgh had a half and full marathon weekend eight months from then.  My thought process went a little like this….well how am I going to wait until then to do a half marathon when I’ve already run 10 miles? I guess I’ll just sign up for the FULL! So yes...I ran a full marathon before I ran a half. And Jordan was just over 16 months when I ran it.  I pretty much went from no running to running a marathon in just over a year. I’d say my drive, determination, mindset, and love for a challenge got me through that!!

Since then I did go back and run a half marathon I’ve actually run four half marathons and three full marathons and several other races.  But I don’t think running is really “my thing.” I’m even hesitant to call myself a “runner.” Most big races I’ve done, I’ve reached the goal, and that was that.  One year I did set a goal for myself to run a half and full in the same year to stop that from happening after my half. But after my full marathon, I didn’t run much at all. I was more into set a fitness goal, work incredibly hard to achieve it, then crash and burn!! Yikes!!

When I got pregnant for the second time, I wanted to mimic my first healthy pregnancy.  I did just that, but “bouncing back” did not go well at all the second time (c-section #2).  I couldn’t lose the weight. I was so frustrated and down on myself. I felt gross and didn’t like what was in the mirror.  And on top of that, I was still adjusting to being involuntarily moved to 4th grade. I’ll admit...it ROCKED my world. I was BLESSED to have a job, but feeling like a first year teacher all over again while pregnant with Ashlyn was no fun.  And leaving in April to have her left me coming back from maternity leave the following school year still feeling like that brand new teacher. Plus the school environment since all the furloughs my district made was just DIFFERENT. It didn’t feel like when I first started teaching and after those six years I LOVED in 2nd grade.

So quite possibly at the most perfect time after going back to school after maternity leave, I had a childhood neighbor I grew up with reach out to me about this online health and fitness accountability group for moms.  It literally was what I NEEDED at that moment in time. Sure life was BUSY, and CRAZY, and INSANE, but I NEEDED to take care of myself!! I felt like I was just existing as a wife, mom, and teacher! Despite my HUGE hesitations of doing an at home workout because I thought I would NOT get a good workout at all, I gave it a try.  It was pure INSANITY and my trainer was INSANE and I LOVED every minute of it!! I would pop it in on my SmartBoard in my classroom after my students would leave. I had other teachers join me. And I had this supportive and encouraging online community of moms to check in with. It was INCREDIBLE!! I also started adding a SuperFoods shake into my daily eating because I saw all the amazing ingredients….all the nutrition I knew my body needed and was NOT getting in even my healthiest day of eating!!  I felt SO GOOD!!

So naturally when my friend asked me if I wanted to support and lead others with what I was doing, I put some serious THOUGHT into it.  I loved health and fitness. I loved helping and teaching. But seriously how was I going to be a coach when I was just back to work full time and had a husband, 8 month old, and 2.5 year old at home???  I FOLLOWED MY HEART!! I knew nothing about business. I didn’t even understand or realize the business opportunity that I was getting myself into and the potential it had. I was not an expert by any means.  And I was still not where I wanted to be. But I knew that other women needed to experience what I was experiencing!! And I wanted to create a healthy lifestyle at home and lead by example for my family. This was becoming a WAY OF LIFE!!

Not only have I learned how to take care of myself physically through different fitness programs and learning how to eat to nourish my body, I also have focused on personal and spiritual development.  My emotional and spiritual well-being has probably been my biggest transformation since being on this journey. I have taken the time to develop and strengthen a more positive mindset. I have learned what it means to truly love myself.  But more so, I have developed and strengthened my faith. I was very much missing a personal relationship with God and because I have focused on my WHOLE health, it has brought me closer to HIM.

When I signed up to be a coach, I certainly had ZERO desire or plans to ever leave the classroom.  I LOVED my years of teaching. And I LOVED the joy that coaching brought into my life when that spark was fading.  But as I continued my job as a coach, my passion for my work blossomed, and my kids were getting older, my priorities were changing.  I started to realize what was in front of me and how it could greatly impact my family’s life. I started having visions of me putting Jordan on the bus for kindergarten and picking him up.  I imagined me volunteering in his classroom. I pictured the freedoms and flexibility we would have as a family if I would bring my work home.

I always knew I wanted to teach.  I always knew I wanted to contribute to my family.  And I knew there was always a purpose for me in life.  I discovered this was it. With this opportunity, I combined my love for teaching with my love for health and fitness, and decided to go full-time (after 10 years of teaching) with my health and fitness coaching business.  I basically worked my butt off to make this happen and truly enjoyed every second of it! I resigned from teaching (in the classroom) in June of 2015. I have been a full-time health, wellness, and fitness coach since. I’m still most definitely a teacher…. just in a different way and my classroom is MUCH BIGGER.  I can work from HOME and stay home with my two beautiful children who are now 12 and 10. I have been blessed with this opportunity and this life. I realized there were other boxes for me to check. Now it is time to keep paying it forward!