Growing up in grade school was the best time of my life. I
was in gymnastics and soccer and had an older brother to always pick on at his
most inconvenient times. My favorite thing to do was go with my dad every night
to my Mamaw and Papaw’s farm to feed the cows (I normally ended riding on the
back of mine. Her name was Boots.) I would go feed the chickens with Papaw and
make the BEST sugar cookies with Mamaw standing on a chair right over the
kitchen countertop. It was all a part of “the life” and I loved every minute of
it but for some reason interacting with anyone else besides family was always a
challenge for me. When I was about ten or eleven, I began riding horses and taking
lessons. My life was made. I would have lived in the barn if Mom would have let
me.
I began middle school and that’s when everything began going
downhill. I was chubby, called fat at times, and I was bullied by pretty much
everyone I ran into contact with. I was the vulnerable one. I was the socially
awkward one. I was the one that everyone bonded around because they knew they
could all make fun of me and I wouldn’t stand up for myself. At one point, I
got milk dumped on my head during lunch and then a tray spilled on me a few
minutes later. I had one best friend, Kayla, and that was the only person I
really talked to. Being a teacher’s daughter, I thought that was the reason I
was getting picked on. Then I realized that the girl I grew up with because our
moms taught together was popular and things weren’t making sense. This really
started my downhill spiral. I wasn’t happy and now my home life wasn’t looking
so grand either. My brother was moving away for college and my parents were on
the edge of a divorce. For the next four years of middle school I dreaded
going. I dreaded a place where I was made fun of and hated on a daily basis.
Starting high school, I even switched counties and schools
so that I didn’t have to deal with those bullies any more. I had resorted to
food for comfort and I was overly cheerful in trying to make friends at my new school.
I started in band the summer before freshman year and I could already tell
people were annoyed with me. Was it my clothes? My hair? My attitude? I later
found out it was because I was different. I didn’t act like the rest of the
kids and I slowly started to realize why.
When I was in third grade, I was diagnosed with attention
deficit and hyperactive disorder. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
(ADHD) is one of the most common childhood disorders and can continue through
adolescence and adulthood. Symptoms include difficulty staying focused and
paying attention, difficulty controlling behavior, and hyperactivity
(over-activity). I was not like the other kids. I got low grades in conduct on
my report cards and in high school I was always the “annoying” one. I was
socially awkward and I tried to over-compensate. I didn’t have a lot of friends
and the ones I did have weren’t that close. I was medicated all through school
and I just thought this was normal. I had never educated myself on it and I had
no idea really what it was about. Along with all of this, I was in the middle
of my parents divorcing my junior year and also dealing with what college or university
I was going to attend in just a few years.
<<<(My brother's wedding my sophomore year of high school -- Left to right: Me, my brother, Mom, Dad)
All of these crazy things led me to one comfort… FOOD.
I was always a child that grew up on McDonald’s chicken
nuggets and hash browns if we got there before 10:30 am. I grew up in a small
town with comfort food as the back bone. I lived off of pepperoni rolls and
bagel bites. With everyone in the house always running and on the go, there was
hardly any time for a sit down meal at the table. This, along with the stresses
of school, took a toll on my body and my mental strength. I was always in
sports so I really think that is what kept my weight to a minimum compared to
the nasty food I consumed. I hated my body and everything around me was
crashing down. I had nowhere to hide besides behind the food.
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| <<<<(My senior prom)>>>> |
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| <<<(Senior Prom -- My brother being himself)>>> |
On to the bigger things, success used to mean a really nice
car, a fancy house, and a huge office to call my own. I have always wanted to
work in healthcare but had changed careers quite a few times before deciding I
really want to work with children. I found myself at home when talking to them
and really listening to their stories. I was once that kid that just didn’t
feel like they fit in or was on medicine for a condition that they had no idea
what it involved. I just wanted to help in any way that I could. I never let my
dreams weigh me down and I think that has been my saving grace through life
thus far.
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| <<<(Graduation 2011 -- pictured with my all time best friend)>>> |
Looking at my dreams and goals in life, I started to become
dissatisfied with the person I was becoming. I was in a relationship the first
two years of college and that was my all-time low breaking point. I hated
everything about myself, I had gained over 20 pounds and I looked in the mirror
and saw nothing of who I wanted to be. That relationship ended in a very bad
six months of on-again, off-again and at this point I had no idea where to
begin to pick up the pieces. I had lost all my friends. I now didn’t have a
church to go to that I felt comfortable because of him. I had lost the best
in-laws I had ever known and also the best little brothers that I could ever
dream of. I sat at home and cried for hours because I was nothing of who I
dreamed I would be. I had no goals, I had to change majors in school, and I had
no anticipation of things getting any better. This is when I realized I needed
to do something for myself. I have always been a person to give before taking
and loving way too much without fear of the future. I needed to take a look at
my own life and really analyze what I wanted to do with it. I was 20 years old
and going nowhere.
This is when I was introduced to Beachbody through a close
friend. She had been asking me to do these programs with her for over a year
and finally gave in after gaining these pounds and really being a product of
the “Freshman Fifteen.” Through Beachbody, I can honestly say I have found
myself. Everything I have ever wanted, I have set goals and deadlines to achieve
them. I have a dream board and a wish list of future endeavors. With a lot of
support and even more motivation, I started to see me again. I started to
understand that all the bullies and judgmental people that I had ran into for
the past 15 years were WRONG. They didn’t know me and they sure as heck didn’t
have the right to judge me on things they thought I should do. I was finally my
own person and willing to be proud of that. I love who I have become and I
would not be where I am today without my coach and the other coaches above and
beside me.
I have now been off my ADHD medication for over 2 years and
have learned to control myself in every aspect of my life. I refuse to depend
on something that will not hold me back from truly being myself and I know that
I can do anything I want to without the help of medicine. I whole-heartedly
believe that there is a cure for ADHD and that is truly the simplest thing of
all… determination and will-power to succeed. Through finding out about how to
handle myself and my life, I have been able to create my own medicine and
self-discipline. I have taught myself how to focus and how to get one thing
accomplished at a time. Doing all of this, I have a much more clear
understanding of the struggles of others just like me that think there is no
cure or no answer to their problems. 
My success with my diagnosis has not stopped there. I have
become a coach for Beachbody and I have lost half of the Freshman Fifteen so
far. I have become a better person inside and out and I cannot thank my coach
and this company any more for this opportunity. I can see myself thriving in
this business and I cannot wait for the next chapter of my life to begin.
Now that you know my story, I hope you can share it with as
many people as possible. I absolutely love what I get to do each and every day
and I would love to have you join me and begin your own journey as well. I can’t
wait to see where life takes you and I would love to be a part of it! So
contact me if my story interested you, you want to know more about my journey,
or you just need to talk. Find me on Facebook or email me at LaurenKnight4574@gmail.com!
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