THE CHALLENGE...

So two weeks ago I began the Body For Life Challenge. It has been going pretty well. The other day I was reading on the Body For Life web-site about ways to be successful in this challenge. It said that one thing to do is tell everyone around you that you are doing the challenge, that way you have a good support group. I am someone who likes to do things on my own and I haven't really told anyone about this challenge, but I want to be successful, so here it goes. I want to lose 30 pounds!!! That is my goal. I have twelve weeks to complete the program, and I need all of you to be my support group! I want to get healthy and fit, that is my main objective, but for those of you that really know me, you know that I am competitive, and I really want to WIN this challenge!!! Thousands of people enter and there are 8 winners total. I want to be one of them! I also look forward to dropping some pounds and getting fit. When I was in Alaska on my backpacking trip, one of the last days out in the wilderness we had to climb straight up this mountain, about 1000 feet high, carrying our 50 pound packs. When I looked up at it, I thought I was going to cry. I felt the tears coming. I wasn't sure if my body could make it up there. But I pushed forward and when I made it to the top I felt like a whole new person. I had just conquered a mountain and I felt like I was on top of the world (which I was). Now this is my next mountain to conquer. You are my support. I need you all to chip in and be part of the voice in my head telling me to keep pushing forward. Please send me some encouraging words, favorite quotes, poems, songs to workout to, anything that will encourage me to reach my goal. I have until November 24th to reach it. I will conquer!!!

A Dream Come True

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I had the amazing opportunity to spend some quality time with Zac Efron during the shooting of High School Musical 3!!! It really was a dream come true. As we danced and sang together in front of the camera I felt like a movie star. I will never forget our day together at East High School. Go Wildcats!!!

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ARE ATHLETES HEROES?

Today I sat through an interesting class discussion in my Sport and Society class. We were asked the question: "Are athletes heroes, role-models, or none of the above?" It really made me think about how society views athletes, especially how us in the United States, view our professional athletes. Are they heroes? The definition of hero is:

A person noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose, especially one who has risked or sacrificed his or her life (from the dictionary)

Using this definition, are athletes heroes? Should we be allowing or encouraging our children to look up to athletes and glorify them? I thought about this a lot. There are some pretty amazing athletes out there. I was addicted to the Olympic Games in Beijing this summer and there were some awesome stories out there of athletes overcoming obstacles to make it to those games. I think that there are some athletes who make outstanding role-models. They seem to be fewer and fewer these days, but there are some. I just don't know if any of them are heroes. Maybe in their individual lives they do heroic things, but is playing a sport and winning a game a measure of heroism? What do you think?