Thank You Letter to My Coach

Sometimes certain people in life deserve a "thank you."  Today, I would like to write an open letter to my coach, Jess.

Dear Jess,

Today, I would like to say "thank you."  Even those words do not seem adequate enough for what you have given me...

I started reading your blog a couple years ago.  As a blogger, your successes inspired me.  I would log on to my computer each day and eagerly read your words for the day.  I never dreamed that you would one day mean so much more to me than a writer at the other end of a daily blog post.

You have written and talked to me a lot about through your coaching wanting to change lives...wanting to help others.  I don't know how many of those you coach have given you feedback, but you have changed mine.  How, you may wonder?  Well, I will tell you.

I have been fortunate enough to have support in my life.  Throughout my lifetime struggle with weight loss, people have TRIED to be supportive, but they just did not get it.  You get it.   Through your one on one talks with me and posts online, you have given me one of the greatest gifts a person can receive -- confidence.  Confidence is something I have lacked (almost completely) for the duration of my 35 years here on Earth.  Growing up so uncomfortable in your own skin can do that to a person, I guess.

Thanks to you, I now see that there is a beautiful person here -- inside and out.  Thanks to you, I am buying clothes that I would have never bought before.  Clothes used to be something I would buy to hide underneath.  Now, I buy things that are pretty and stylish because I DESERVE to do that.  I should not be ashamed and hide.  I can be overweight and still be sexy.  Thanks to you, I felt hot in my swim suit during my beach vacation.   Thanks to you, I am wearing shorts and short sleeved t-shirts this summer.  Thanks to you, I know that there are beautiful things about me and that feeling ashamed is not an option.

Thanks to you, I am pushing my body to places that I never thought it could go.  I am working out on a daily basis.  I am doing workouts that I would previously watch on infomercials and long to do....but a person my size and fitness would never be able to get 5 minutes into without having to stop.  WRONG.  You gave me the confidence to understand that I can do this.  Thanks to you I am now stronger and more athletic than I have ever been in my entire life.  I am also learning how to forgive myself and push forward after a bad day. I have learned that quitting is never an option.

You took me on as a coach on your team...something I feel privileged to be a part of...mostly because I want to do for others what you have done for me.  I honestly don't care about the monetary side of things.  I want to help people.  Even though I have not exactly been successful yet -- in that I don't exactly have a long list of clients or a high ranking, you continue to be supportive and cheer me on.  That means the world.  I just hope to inspire others the way you have inspired me.

You live in Colorado.  I live in Ohio.  We aren't exactly able to go get coffee on a regular basis.  But, when we meet up in Nashville next summer, the coffee (or, hell, a whole dinner) is on me. Then, we can workout together to burn it off...haha.  

I consider you a dear friend as well as a role model.

Thank you for giving me the pieces to the puzzle that have been missing for a long time.

Sincerely,

Courtney