I have had a lot of people ask me if I was an athlete or a cheerleader, but the truth is I have never played a sport in my life. I grew up on the free lunch program in Alabama and my parents didn’t have the money or time for after school programs. In college, I was able to obtain an Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corp scholarship. I was excited to see the world, but I had to pass the physical fitness test. My first test I could only do 8 situps, 0 pushups, and I couldn’t do a 2 mile run in under 30 minutes. It took me a 1.5 years of work to condition myself to pass the test. Once I passed I never looked back and kept training. Last year I hit my 6 year mark in the military, and attended squadron officers school. We had a timed 3 mile “Warrior Run” and I was determined to be the fastest female in my class. Today I have a plaque on the wall in the schoolhouse for meeting that goal. This year I was injured while marathon training, so I shifted my direction. I was introduced to a national level figure competitor and decided to try weight training for the first time ever. I competed in a local competition here on Okinawa, Japan in June and received 4th place. Since I didn’t have the muscular physique, I decided to try competing in a bikini competition in September. I received 2nd place in the Ohio State/Great Lakes Grand Prix. This is shocking to some because most people who wear combat boots daily can’t walk in 5 inch stilettos. Also 10 years ago, I was embarrassed to wear a bikini to the beach, much less on stage. I discovered this year, that I can do anything if I set a goal to do it. It doesn’t matter where you have been, it matters where you want to go and how hard you are willing to work for it.

It's my escape from the world. Since I have usually worked in a room with no windows all day, it's always been nice to go on a run outside. Also, I started lifting with a friend and the gossip time in the gym was always quality.