I hate to lose. Fortunately, i didn’t. Even though I didn’t get the votes to stay on as long as I hoped for. I won in every single way possible.
Five time I got to experience the rush/fear/excitement of knowing that when the music starts 20mm people were going to see me do something for 90 seconds I had never done before, and while I did it, I had to find a way to put that aside and love every minute of it. I did. Thats a win.
For 8 weeks I got to get up every morning knowing that no matter how sore I was, I had a goal that required me to challenge myself physically and mentally from 2 to 6 hours or more every single day. I did it. Ioved doing it, and I lost 30 lbs doing it. Thats a win.
Probably the most rewarding part of being on the show was just being able to be me. I had no say over the music , the video packages they did or how they presented me on the show.. The show people were doing what they thought would make great TV and they obviously are phenomenal at it.. ( I still haven’t watched a single one of the shows. I hate watching myself . All I see are the flaws. ). All I had control over was working as hard as I possibly could, making as many friends as I could, and enjoying every single minute of the experience.
What it reminded me more of than anything was the feeling of being a kid and moving to a new neighborhood. The fear, the excitement, the uncertainty, the newness of it all. Not knowing if I was going to be picked first or last for the game and whether or not I would live up to either . Knowing that feeling again. Thats a win.
Thank you to everyone who supported me with their votes, emails, texts, posts and everything else. You motivated me and made it all the sweeter.
And thanks to Kym Johnson. I couldn’t have gotten any luckier than having her guide me through this entire process. She is an amazing teacher and now, a better friend.
Thanks to my family , friends and co workers for filling in for me in so many ways to allow me to experience all of this. I know it couldn’t have happened without your help , love and support.