My Life Ended at 20

Some say my life actually ended when I was 20.
How you ask, since I turn 25 next week?

I got married.

I have so many people who say to me "How did you do that so young?" or, more commonly "Why? Why not wait?". My personal favorite is, "You had so much life to live... Why did you do that so young?"

Here's the thing, if my life ended when I got married, I am not doing it right.

My life did not end when I got married. In fact, it really kind of began. Why did I get married so young? Because I wanted to continue to live life, just do it with my best friend by my side. How is that bad? When I committed myself to Daimian on November 5, 2010, I committed to go on adventures, to dream big, to not get comfortable and complacent, and to live life excited and ready to go. We have traveled the world together, traveled our state together, had all kinds of fun and different dates, and given ourselves to each other in ways that no other relationship allows.

Not only that, but more importantly, my relationship with God is better. Marriage has made me more holy, more focused on Jesus, less on myself., Not only did my life continue - not die - and even got ramped up, but my relationship with Christ was taken to a brand new level that wouldn't have happened otherwise.

My husband pushes me to be better, he challenges me to dream outside of the norm, he encourages me to go after all my crazy desires, and he goes along with me. I promise you, I am not missing out on anything by getting married young, and I would do it ALL over again if given the chance.

Carving Out the Healthy

I was an athlete once. 
I played varsity basketball at a large high school for good coaches on good teams all four years of high school. I did the same as a thrower on the track & field team. 
I was fit, I could run, I played A LOT of basketball. 
I was an athlete once.

Then I got fat. There is an athlete in there somewhere, but right now, she is all kinds of covered up by bad choices, fat rolls, and too many years of losing I truly was.

A friend sent me this picture:

It hit me. Hard. This is exactly what my weight loss journey has felt like. This describes it 100% in picture form. This fat girl, this addiction to food, these bad decisions, that is not me. The athlete, the healthy person, the person who cares for herself, that is who I am, deep down. 

Have you ever seen Michelangelo's statue of David? Its amazing. He was asked one time how he was able to create such a beautiful piece out of a ugly, plain slab of marble. He answered, "David was inside the stone—I just needed to chip away all the pieces that weren't David." 

Yes! Bam! That is whats happening! That is what I am doing! Brittany is inside... Right now, I am just chipping away all the pieces that aren't Brittany. This fat girl, this isn't me. I am confident, I am an athlete, I am a doer, I am active, I am strong. This fat girl is none of those things. And now, I have to chip away all the pieces that aren't me. And that is exactly what I am doing.