O1xygenAustralianJulyAugust2015_

WhenIwas19yearsoldI

became pregnant with my

son, Cameron. He is my

inspiration for working

hard and to continue

tochasemydreams. If

there’s one thing I want

toteachhim,it’showto

work hard for something,

no matter what struggles

you face. It wasn't always

easy raising him alone and

trying to make ends meet.

Setting and reaching

goals

ThroughtheyearsI

managedtoearnaBAin

psychology, MA in mental

health counselling, and

personal training and

group fit certifications. I

worked as a trainer on a

military base and now

fortheUNCWellness

Centre in North Carolina.

Helping people to achieve

theirfitnessandweight

loss goals, and becoming

more confident in their

life brought so much

happiness to me.

It wasn’t an easy time

though. The late nights

Istayedupstudying,

working a couple jobs at a

time, raising a child alone,

andtryingtomakeends

meet financially, while

trying to find balance to

create my own healthy

lifestyle.

The moment that

changed me

Therewasatimeinmylife

whereIhitrockbottom.

My body finally was

feeling the results of being

overworked, stressed and

heartbroken.Iknewthatif

Ididn'tatleasthavegood

health, that my dreams

would be ruined. So one

day I decided to make a

change. Sometimes you

just have that moment that

snaps you out of the funk

you're in and makes you

change your ways. Mine

was the time my son’s

father walked out and left

us with nothing.

It was then that I rebuilt

mylife. Atthispoint,I'd

been studying psychology

foranumberofyears

and began putting my

theories to test. I closed

down social media, turned

off the cable and began

journaling.

Iredirectedmythought

processfromnegative

to positive, and replaced

allthetoxicthingswith

energising things; this

included people. Anyone

who was not supportive

or bringing sunshine into

my life was not allowed

init.Ipromisedmyself

that I would protect my

happiness no matter what.

Finding my way

I spent a whole year

retraining my mind to

be strong and solid. The

following year I took my

fitness to the next level and

lost 18 kilos.

Competing in the Fitness

Universe competition in

Miamihelpedmefindmy

confidence again. I found

my faith, my strength,

my hope, inner pea

love. Most of all I f

thebalanceIwaslo

for. My son was be

the entire time, and

day still talks abou

he watched me ma

dream come true. I

that through the st

he was able to witn

mum being strong

taking on the world

Thesedays,Iamno

competing. But I am

living a healthy life

I’m maintaining a s

weight, training ha

eating clean daily. M

works out with me

dayandevenhelps

prepare healthy me

My goal in life is to

continue to live my

in health and fitnes

treat each person t

stepsintomylifen

guidance with resp

and love. As we ven

through their journey to

personalgrowth,Itreat

them as a whole package

andhaveaholisticview

on fitness and health. We

focusoneatingwholefood

from the earth, exercising

dailyandkeepingitfun

and exercising mind and

spirit as well along with

the physical body. My

approach to life is that

there will always be

it.”

““Anyone w

ace and

found

ooking

eside me

dto this

thow

ke my

Iknow

ruggles

nesshis

and

d.

ot

mstill

estyle.

solid

ardand

Myson

eevery

to

eals.

ypassion

ssand

hat

eeding

pect

nture

thunderstorms. Youjust

have tolearnhowtodance

in therainwhen times get

rough.”

PHOTO CREDIT:SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

oxygenmag.com.au | JULY/AUG 2015 | 129

Transformation