It’s an important question to ask yourself, because while personal your journey towards health, happiness, or just surviving is never done alone. Our support system plays a huge role in our ability to attain our goals. I’m the youngest child of a VERY tight knit family, so I’ve always looked up to my siblings but recently I’ve found myself looking to them for motivation and support more than ever.
My sister, Alissa (the oldest) has always been the entertainer in our family, her wit and comedy routines can make me smile even after the worst of days. It makes sense that she became a teacher, now she gets to use her talent to inspire our youth. She is the mother of three beautiful children all under the age of 6 and last year was able to complete her masters. I am fairly certain she is half bionic.
Around the same time that she finished her master program, she embarked on a journey to get healthy and change her lifestyle. I was excited for her and wanted nothing more than for my sister to be happy. For years, my sister wouldn’t let my dad (aka the paparazzi) to take pictures of her with her girls. This may sound weird, but I didn’t want my nieces to look back someday and wonder why mommy wasn’t in any of their childhood photos.
Fast forward one year and my sister has lost over 7o lbs, I haven’t seen her this smiley in ages. She is glowing. She never wavered from her commitment to herself or her goals of getting healthy. Throughout the past year she challenged herself (and her new body) in new ways. Her determination has been a huge motivator for me and her journey reminds me that there is enough time to make everything that is truly important work.
My brother, Andrew is the middle child and only boy and has always shared my parents love and passion for music. He also got ALL the natural athletic talent, which was annoying for me…but I digress. It wasn’t until high school that this interest became his life passion. I had never seen my brother more determined than when he wanted to learn to play the guitar and began taking voice lessons. That determination has paid off, he is an amazing musician and his band, TUGG hasn’t stopped pursuing their dream to make it in the music world. By day, he is a marketing professional, husband and an amazing father but at night he is working his butt off to make his dream a reality. When you see him on stage, you know without a doubt that is where he is meant to be. He is so confident and more importantly content. His love and passion for music, along with his determination to pursue a career that he truly loves even with all the risks inspires me to follow my dreams.
I love my sibling and I don’t know who or where I would be without them. As a celebration of our healthy achievements (my brother has also lost a considerable amount of weight in the past two years) we decided to run a half marathon all together back in May. It was a great day.
Hands down, crossing the finish line with my brother and sister by my side was one of the best days of my life and the memories are unforgettable.
After writing this post, I realized how many wonderful people are in my life that motivate me to be the best version of myself. I feel very lucky. What or who motivates you?
Happy weekend y’all (damn I wish I was southern sometimes), I can’t wait to actually hang out with EJ and try out some new recipes as all.
– Leanne
Update: I wanted to share some before and after (or up-to-date) pics of my sister.
Glorious Greens 