Thank You For The Support

Good morning! :) Happy Marvelous Monday!

I hope everyone so far is having a good day! It's always good to start off a day with a positive and optimistic attitude, at least in my opinion. (*Warning* this post may be a long one.)

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So, I have a question for you guys...

When you first started getting into fitness (if you are, that is) how did everyone around you react? Were they supportive of your goals? Did they take it seriously or did they think it was some type of fad to lose weights or look 'cool'? Did they think it was stupid?

I am generally curious for some opinions right here. Because I am surprised at the amount of support I have gotten after revealing that I am a huge fitness/weightlifting nut and figure competitions are in my future.

Let me explain. I am not talking about my family. I absolutely admire that fact that my brother, mom and dad are all so supportive of my decisions. When I first told my mom I wanted to be a certified personal trainer and a figure competitor, she was a little iffy and confused. She didn't really know what a figure competition entailed and she didn't know if that was the 'best' direction for my life. But ever since I have gotten her to truly see the passion for fitness that I have (thanks in part to my trainer) she has totally been on board and supports EVERYTHING I do. My mom would drop everything to make sure I have the car to let loose at the gym. I have no doubt in my mind whatsoever that when I compete, she will be there in the audience cheering me on.

So, you can see that it took some time to get my family to understand. But what about the people around me, like the kids my age, teachers, etc? I will gladly admit that when I first started getting into fitness and doing copious amounts of research, I was terrified to tell anyone that I wanted to compete and be a trainer. I thought people would scoff at me and be all like "Psh, that's SO stupid." A lot of people don't understand the difference between bikini, figure, fitness, phsyique, and bodybuilding competitions. They typically always gravitate to thinking of the huge, pumped up bodybuilding women that look like 'men' and pump themselves with steroids and testosterone (and it should be noted that not all women bodybuilders do this; some are natural and super hard workers). While I respect all the women bodybuilders, that is not my goal. I want to do figure, which is different. Here's the difference between all the categories (if anyone wants a post about the difference between the categories in words, let me know):

(from left to right: Bikini [Source], Figure [Source], Bodybuilding [Source])

(from left to right: Physique [Source], Fitness [Source])

I originally kept my blog under wraps from the people I know in real life. I thought it would be 'weird' to let them see this side of me. However, I do follow some of these people on Twitter who follow me back, and they do see when I post a new blog post. I never posted it on Facebook, where the majority of my friends are. I was going to make a separate Twitter for my personal relationships, but I decided that if the people I know in real life can put up with my blog and fitness tweets, then they are truly good people.

However, more and more people have been approaching me in school telling me that they they read the blog and are inspired. They tell me they love my dedication and even ask me for help. I have even told all of my teachers and they all seem to support me.

WHAT!!!

This makes me BEAM from ear to ear. I LOVE this. I've had so many people come up to me, asking me what foods they should be eating and what workouts I would recommend. Oh my gosh, whenever I get these questions I am seriously SO happy as this is EXACTLY what I want to do with my life!!! This affirms why I want to compete and be a trainer. I'm getting a head start! Even my brother comes to me daily asking me for advice.

Also, I got a message from a girl on Facebook whom I have not seen since middle school. (If you're reading this, hi!) I started skimming through and when I saw words like "you post" and "figure competitions" I thought she would be telling me to tone it down a bit as I feared that I was flooding her news feed with all the fitness pictures that I "liked," oblivious that this was even appearing on other people's news feeds. But, she told me the complete opposite. She told me that it was so cool that instead of being interested in your typical sport (soccer, softball, etc.), I was interested in figure competitions. This seriously made my whole life.

Post-workout FU Face. (Thanks to Kierston!)

I can't believe that I thought people would think I was weird. I'm sure some people DO think I'm weird, but I can see for the most part that the people I actually know are supportive of me and trust me enough to believe that I know quite a lot about fitness and nutrition. It makes my heart smile.

I have had some very mean and ignorant people mock me for my fitness lifestyle. Recently, I've been called "obsessed" and I have had many people call me very derogatory comments behind my back. It's okay though, because if they are saying it behind my back then that means they don't have the courage to say it to my face, which clearly exemplifies the type of person they are. If only they knew my story, they might actually be open-minded. But nope, some people never will be and I accept that. No matter WHAT you do, there will ALWAYS be someone who disapproves. So just be you and live life as that person wastes their time hating you. :)

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To all my readers that I know in real life, thank you for reading this and taking it seriously. To all my blogger friends, thank you for the support and the comments. It means the world. And to all the stragglers who happen to come to my blog, thank you so much for giving this girl a purpose in life.

I love my readers. You all rock. :) Do what you do best and forget the rest. If you are interested in something outside of the 'norm,' don't be afraid to show it. 

Have a great day everyone!

Questions: Have you been in a similar situation? How do you handle the nay-sayers?

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