Fitness Friday...Dear 16 year-old Self

These past two years I have been challenged with my job and have added high school to my list of students.  Being a Elementary School teacher for 10 years (never taught above 3rd and was blissfully happy about that) I was more than nervous to enter the doors of the high school last year.  Not only were they all bigger than me but they were more than half my age....I hear that they can smell fear and I'm sure they could smell me from a mile away!!  Enter today....I love my two periods a day with my high schoolers!  I am able to challenge them to become what their dreams are and talk with them about their life.  Yesterday, some of my boys were in and were talking about two of the track coaches and how they didn't really know what to teach them.  They began to beg me to come and be their track coach.  While I would LOVE to do it, working 40 min away from home and having a 3 year-old doesn't give me a bunch of free time.  This conversation had me thinking this morning...about how amazing it would be to share my passion with these students....about how in a different place in my life this would have fit...but more than anything how this softball obsessed girl has turned into a running obsessed momma!  I've said it before....until I graduated from college running was how I trained for my real sport!  I would have given my left arm to be a softball coach and funny how I feel similar to that now about track.  Long story short I was thinking of my "if only I knew then" things I would have said to myself....here it goes!

Dear 16 year-old Fancy Nancy (I've had the nickname since 4 years-old),

     I'm you well past the age you considered really old and I have a few things that I want you to know:

• 30 is not ancient....33 is even less ancient! 
• You won't always be that thin so wear your bikini EVERY. SINGLE. DAY!  Stop bashing your thighs because they are going to power you all over the country some day!
• Getting moved to the bottom of the batting order is not the end of the world....some day you are going to play in a much bigger league and you can go back and tell your coach to go pound tar!  It is his tough love that is going to make you the leader you need to be!
• Run all you can and all you want.  Some day you will have to get a job and you'll have a family and you won't have all the time in the world to run....even though you don't think it's a big deal now!
• Eat something darn it!!!  You're metabolism is super fast plus you are playing sports for 4 hours a day....Plus you won't turn 30 and realize how good food really is!
• Be nice to your Mom...she's only trying to make sure you are healthy and happy...she's not torturing you by feeding you meat!
• Don't argue about your team with your Dad....He's right and some day you'll thank him!
• Give your sister some slack....she's way cooler than you want to admit and will be someone you look up to (even though you secretly already do!)
• Some day you'll have a little girl that will copy everything you do...see yourself as a beautiful person so she can copy that too!  
• Some day you are going to run a marathon and 15 half marathons....yes you are going to run to just run...no ball involved and guess what....You're going to LOVE it!
• Prom, breakups, friends, school, summer....are all going to strengthen you to be who you are meant to be! 
• There will be a day where you wear the same outfit in the same month (the horror I know) and you will not die from it!
• You will wear a skirt while you run....yeah you can be girly and sporty and it's way easier when you get older!
• Hold tight to your friends....In 17 years many will come and go but your locker buddy will always remain!
• Reach for the stars....You'll get there I promise!  Life will be different in ways than you had dreamed but I promise that in the end it will be just right!!

Love you....Oh and don't chop all your hair off in college (not a good look!)

33 year-old Fancy Nancy

What would you tell your 16 year-old self???