What Motivates You???

     Motivation. It's just one word, but it carries a lot of weight to it and is fascinating to me because the word motivation means something completely different to every person. I feel like every single person has something that motivates them, whether they admit it or not. There is motivation behind every action we take. Some people had amazing motivation at a point in their life and maybe now that motivation has gotten buried beneath other things, but it's never to late to find that motivation, put it on the front of your mind, and let it lead you through the day. Our motivations may change and evolve over time, but they are always there. I know a lot about motivation, losing it, rebuilding it, questioning it, and being confused by it. When I was about nine years old, I decided that no matter how long it took, I was going to be in the Olympics for Taekwondo one day. I carried that motivation with me everyday. Sometimes it got muddled and faded a little into the background, but it was always there. When I kept training through vomit, tears, and snot bubbles that motivation was there. When I would wake up at 4am during high school to go kick by myself before school started, that motivation was there. When I made national team and won silver at Junior World Championships in Turkey and bronze at the Pan Am Games in Puerto Rico, that motivation was definitely there. Even this past December when I got a concussion in a car accident, less than a month away from the most important step in getting to the 2012 Olympics... my motivation never faded. Although the 2012 Olympics is no longer in my future, it doesn't make me any less motivated to strive to be the absolute best at everything I aim to accomplish.
      There are many things that motivate me every morning when I wake up. My amazing mom, who has always been my number one fan and supporter in all my endeavors, motivates me more than she knows. My dad, who has the will power and attitude for life that could throw even Ghandi for a loop, is so motivating to me, and still even 2 years in the running with stage 4 prostate cancer, looks like the picture of perfect health. He is a perfect example of what kind of attitude to have when life doesn't exactly go the way you planned, and reminds me all the time how important it is to just live for each moment. My brother inspires me everyday even though he may not know it, and so does my boyfriend, Gabe. He pushes me to be my best and challenges me in ways that no one else does. A lot of my motivation everyday comes from the people that are most important in my life, but also from within myself. I have a strong desire to make a difference to someone, to even just one person, and to do things that no one else has done before. From a young age I have never been one to settle for mediocrity or follow the crowd... I mean, when I was six I decided I wanted to start kicking girls in the face instead of doing ballet (although, I still made sure my mom put bright bows in my pig tails) haha. I stay humble, work hard, and throw everything I've got at whatever goal I'm striving to achieve. After all, no one can achieve something if they hold back and don't even try. I'm not afraid of failure because I know that with every failure, I will gain an opportunity to learn something and get closer to success the next time. I would rather try and fail a bunch of times, then just sit back in my comfort zone and never fail at anything because I'm too afraid to put myself on the line. I have a lot of goals that I am very passionate about, and I plan on making all of them a reality one day. 100%. No doubt about it. :)