before real life happened

before I was a lady...

Growing up I was an athlete.  With two older brothers, I hated all things girly and basically just wanted to roll in mud and play with the boys all day long.  It was at the age of 4 when my athletic potential was realized.  My dad was coaching my brothers' soccer team and I was playing on the sideline.  Not only was I not afraid of the ball or the other players, but I basically dove in.  And I was oddly coordinated while doing so.

From that day forward, I was put on every team imaginable and spent every weekend of my childhood running around some sort of field.  I was 7 when I was the only girl on travel soccer team.  When my Irish-Catholic mother learned that I was being mistaken as a boy, she quickly created a girls team.  I was 9 and the girls were 12.  You get the idea.
I played soccer, basketball, and lacrosse all the way thru high school.
I got accolades and recognition: all-state, player of the year, all-american...yadda yadda yadda

I also somehow had a life.  I wasn't one of the 'popular girls' but they were acquaintances.  I was one of the do-gooder sporty girls.  I was in student council, got good grades, played sports, and had a part-time job.
I had crushes here and there and made out a few times - but never had a HS boyfriend.  I went to parties, tried to smoke without coughing, and went to dances with my group of friends.  I had my insecurities like any other teenager, but overall was pretty happy and healthy. 

The college search came and went - and ultimately I chose a private, liberal arts school in the Northeast where I would play both soccer and lacrosse at the Division 1 level.

I did what I could to balance a crazy workload, two teams, and a social life..and soon the Freshman 15 came (and stuck).  I assumed that training for two Div1 teams would keep me healthy and thin - but the copious amounts of beer, the humbling freshmen year riding the bench, the second and third helpings of cereal and fro-yo in the dining hall, and the late night pizza - added up. 

Not to mention a male-designed weight lifting program - it's no wonder that my body eventually....for lack of a better word... snapped.  Towards the end of my freshman year lacrosse season, I tore my ACL, MCL, Meniscus..you name it... in my right knee.

Surgery and rehab-ing the knee meant no soccer sophomore year, but I played lacrosse in the spring.
Junior Year - I went abroad to Australia.  I was only supposed to go for the fall semester so I would come back and play lacrosse in the Spring. I was in Australia for about 3 weeks and already knew that I was staying the whole year (and yes, it was because of a boy)

Needless to say, a year in Australia - away from sports for the first time in my life - was a learning experience.  I found out who I was when I wasn't on a team.  I fell in love for the first time and had my heart broken for the first time.  I put myself first.  School and sports came second.  This was new and different for me.  But when I put myself first, I was looking for fun new experiences.. carefree.  My health, oddly, was not considered when making myself a priority.  So first there was the Freshman 15...then there was the Australia 20.

I came back senior year and managed to fend off any further weight gain and had a pretty successful lacrosse season.  But the australia weight lingered and really made itself known, when during our conference championship game - I blew out my other knee.  ACL, MCL, the works.  Again. 

College was nearly over.  My athletic career was definitely over.  and my body was a wreck.
And now I had to start my life as an adult in the real world?!?  gross.

Hello Blog?

So I came up with the cockamamy idea one morning while I was running (something very new for me as you will soon learn)

I had decided that I wanted to lose 10 lbs.  I needed a deadline.  The end of the year felt reasonable.  And conveniently, the end of the year is in about 10 weeks.  So here we are - lose 10 lbs in the last 10 weeks of the year 2010.

The goal and the timeline made me think of the adorable movie 'Julie & Julia' - every recipe in a book over the course of 1 yr.  Not exactly the same goals - but like Julie, I too am a young woman stumbling through this world, trying to find my footing.  We need to vent our frustrations, share our successes, and give ourselves projects.  So we blog!

Like a lot of people - I have a tendency to start little projects with BIG plans, but quickly lose interest.
I'm hoping if I put it out there - into the black hole of the world wide interwebs - I might hold myself accountable.

...or... I'll just never publish it and tell anyone about it and it will be my own weird little diary.

The latter is more likely, but if you're reading this - then kudos to me for actually doing it! and thanks for reading!

Next post: the deets - my background.

SS
10.19.10