A week of firsts...

This week has been amazing and it's only Wednesday!  The past couple of weeks have been crazy busy and stressful and full of nerves, but it was all worth it.

Monday night I finally got to play in my first league volleyball game (as an adult anyway) and it was incredible!  Honestly, the best part of it for me is just knowing that I'm healthy and strong enough to do so.  Our team won in two quick games and it felt amazing.  I love being able to jump and hit and serve and dive as if I were back in high school.  It feels SO good.  I'm so grateful to my new friend Janie who got me onto her team...and grateful that I earned the right to stay!  It's fun to have a new Monday night workout that I am truly in love with and excited for.

Of course the biggest first, however, was teaching my very first Zumba fitness class last night.  Ever since I was asked to do it two weeks ago, I have been going crazy trying to make sure I had all my routines down and my music memorized and worrying about every little thing.  I was so terrified that I would get in front of people and completely lose my nerve.  But the funny thing is that when I got to the church and went into the gym to set up my music...I had zero butterflies. I almost felt at home.  Like I had done it a hundred times before.

My great friend Amy was so sweet and when  I checked the mail yesterday I had a new Zumba shirt waiting for me!  I was so excited to wear it to teach (even though it came off after the warmup song because it was too hot for anything but a tank top!)  I felt confident and ready to go :)  Thank you for that Amy.  I love your guts!

As people started to trickle in, I figured we'd end up with maybe 10-12 people, but even that was more than I expected and I was getting more excited to teach.  But by the time we started, I had probably closer to 25-30.  I lost count haha.  It was overwhelming!  They filled the gym and it made it SO much more fun!!!  I couldn't believe how many people came.  I felt so truly grateful and blessed to have so many people come to either just support me or to come get in a fun workout.

I took the first 5 minutes or so to tell everyone my story.  I was amazed that I managed to do it without crying.  But it felt like the perfect way to start my career as a teacher...sharing why I was there and where I came from...as well as how far I have come.  Sometimes I still don't believe it myself...and I've lived it.  Hopefully I was able to make everyone feel like anything is possible when it comes to getting healthier.  It's about finding what you LOVE to do and making small changes one at a time.  Losing weight and changing your habits can be very overwhelming if you try and look too much at the big picture.  I ended my little lecture with what I've decided will be my two mottos for my classes in the future.

1) "Just keep moving".  I have had this saying on my phone for years and it's so important.  Especially in a Zumba class when sometimes you get lost or lose your footing or simply can't do a step.  As long as you're moving, that's what counts!

and

2) "If it ain't jigglin', you ain't doin' it right!"  Most people who try out zumba for the first time (or first several times!) are very nervous about how they look and about how their bodies are moving/shaking.  I know for me I still get paranoid at times about my chicken wing arms and my stomach.  The more weight I lose, the more loose some body parts get and man do they jiggle.  Some can be contained with compression gear, but my arms just fly.  And I've learned to accept it!  But most latin dancing is about booty and hip shaking and frankly...you're SUPPOSED to jiggle!  So love your body and let it loose!

As the music got started for our warmup, I really felt like I became a new person.  I felt confident, took control and all my hard work and practice paid off.  The moves came to me when they needed to and I was able to let down my own guard and not feel silly shimmying and shaking my OWN flaws for the world to see.  It felt ...indescribably amazing.  (and NOW the tears come...of course)  I had a couple hiccups where I got too excited and missed a cue for a step or two, but nothing world-ending...and everyone just kept moving!  It was so beautiful and overwhelming to see all those faces in front of me, watching me, and learning from me...and HAVING FUN!!!  Everytime someone would hoot or holler it just fueled the fire more.

One of the big things I was nervous about was having to FACE my class.  In the Zumba class I usually attend, my instructors faces the mirror instead of us.  In some cases, it's easier to follow that way and for some dances, I turned to do the same.  But at our training, we were taught that facing your class is so important because then you can really connect with them!  They can see your eyes and learn your cues for certain moves and it's just more fun.  It can be more difficult for certain songs, but I'm SO glad that I did it that way.  I loved being able to look at each person and see how they were doing.  And they did SO great!

Another really big thing I learned about myself last night is that when you're the one teaching, you work out 10 times harder.  Holy cow.  I've taken more Zumba classes than I can count and that was by far the most I've ever sweat doing so haha.  I think it's the combination of having to really accentuate every movement combined with the occasional yelling that you have to do (though I'm going to work on doing more visual and less verbal cueing in the future...talk about taking the wind out of you).  By the end of the workout (hell, even halfway through) I was red-faced and my pigtails (yes I wore pigtails!) were soaked to the core.  But it was AWESOME!  I know if I'm red and soaked that I worked as hard as I could.  But man, there were a couple times that I had to stop for water and gasp for air.  It probably didn't help that I had already worked out in the morning, run through my set list once at home and then spent 3 hours learning a new song the same day :|  But hey!

When we were done, everyone was so wonderful.  I got some really sweet compliments and made some new friends. I even got a lead on a job that I'm going to try for this week sometime!  It was such an amazing experience and I am so grateful that our wonderful Relief Society (church women's organization) President, Kristin, let me do this.  She's been so supportive and such a great friend.  I am truly blessed to have such amazing family and friends in my life who encourage me and push me to new heights.  I know I've already said this before...but I never thought I'd be here.  And it's just the beginning!