by: Katya Carlson
6:30AM: my first AStrong. Feeling truly bad-ass. Not just because as Hali said I got to “lift some heavy ass shit,” but because I COULD lift some heavy ass shit. These past few months I’ve found my driving passion, and it’s fitness. It has been a time of growth – emotionally, mentally, physically, and all that good stuff. The physical growth has been the most healing.
Two short summers ago I was at war with my body, hating it, depriving it, trying so desperately to do anything and everything to shrink it, to shrink myself. I became unhealthy in every way. I couldn’t do more than five push-ups, my heart was deteriorating, and as my body shrank, so did every aspect of me. I spent time in treatment, trying to rebuild myself from the bottom up, but I spent more time in apathy than in action and I was at a standstill with myself. I was tired, truly just over it, struggling to find purpose in it all. I made it my mission to get myself back, not just in little ways, but in every way.
I grabbed that shit by the horns and did just that. Every damn day. Improve mentally. Improve physically. Improve emotionally. Working to grow my relationships, to be more honest, to feel more alive. Now I wake up in the morning with purpose, excitement, and passion to pursue what I love in school and in life. The journey through finding your purpose in life is hard and so unrelenting, with obstacles, and people that tell you no or that you would never be able to do what you’re chasing.
The point isn’t to be perfect, it’s to be purposeful. Do all things with a purpose and everything will HAVE a purpose. Do things that grow you, if you don’t always succeed it’s okay, because no matter what, you will always learn. Push yourself, be kind to yourself, trust yourself. The important thing is that you do what makes you want to get up in the morning, no matter what everyone else may be doing. If you want something, go after it, let it fuel you, whatever it may be. Go get it.
So here’s to health, here’s to purpose, here’s to growing in all the best ways, and as Drake would say, MORE LIFE my dudes. Rock on. And special shout-out to all the bad-ass people at Alchemy who make me want to be just as bad-ass.
Katya is an avid and committed lover of all dogs. She’s what we call a “weekend warrior” – her ideal weekend consisting of a good workout followed by a brunch that could save lives, spending time with her boyfriend Cray, and spending time in the city.
