58. 2019, Looking Back & Looking Forward

There is A LOT going on in our world right now and I'm sending my very best energy to everyone. I have waited to post again, to be sensitive of all that is going on. I have high respect for each country and person going through their own, unique situation. There is a lot to be said to a lot of different situations. I discussed this with a friend the other day and they said, "Keep posting, keep spreading good energy. People need it most right now." So I am. I hope it brings some happiness to you.

As we enter our 2020 peak skydiving season, I have done a lot of reflecting on season 2019. Before diving into 2020, I want to share 2019 with you. Sending ALL the best vibes to skydivers and non-skydivers. I am positive we will all be flying soon and reunited. Stay strong.

In a year of working full time at iFLY, Skydive Spaceland and coaching on free time, I am grateful for no injuries, all of the skydives, all of the tunnel flight time. I am grateful for all the good energy from my AFF students, tandem students, people I coached. I am grateful for the unconditional love from my family and best friends. I am grateful for the support of multiple, excellent bosses both at Spaceland and iFLY. I am grateful for a world class drop zone and tunnel where I could do the work I love.

I literally gave everything I had to work at both iFLY and Skydive Spaceland this past season. Weekends were waking at 5:45 am, working at Spaceland 7:30-3:30, speeding 90 mph to iFLY to work 4:30-11:30....then waking again at 5:45 am Sunday to do the same thing. Tuesday-Thursday were 10+ hour days at iFLY. Mondays and Fridays I often went to iFLY to private coach people. Both were my dream jobs but managing both in this capacity was a challenging test. After a year of this, at the end of season 2019, my iFLY manager agreed to give me Saturdays off. This gave me Saturdays to focus at Spaceland, making everything more manageable.

Through this season, I thought it was all about pushing myself to be the best instructor I could be at both Spaceland and iFLY. Obsessed in both good and bad ways. The lessons that were learned in-between all of the work were equally valuable. I could go into detail with a book's length ;) but here is the summary. I am grateful for learning that health and self-care are always #1- even if you are in love with your work. I now believe there are 4 corners to this- body, mind, food, spirituality- and the need for them to all be balanced. I learned about each of these for who I am- this balance is different for each person. Health and balance always need to come first. I am grateful for learning to always focus on the positive- there will always be challenging customers co-workers, changes, things out of your control - no matter where you work. It can be extra challenging when your passion is in your work. Stay positive, speak positively. I am grateful to learn to focus on the people who support you, who always believe in you. Give your energy to them. I am grateful to learn to keep the big picture of life in mind & its entirety. Make the time to enjoy every single day in numerous ways.

Thank you to everyone who supported me and believed in me, you know who you are.