When I was a young girl I had lots of dreams, as many young children do.
I dreamt of being a ice skater, skating across the ice rink with grace and beauty, with a handsome partner lifting me up and spinning me around; For a (very) short time, I saw myself as a park keeper, taking money off tourists as they parked their cars for a day at the beach (it's best not to give any more detail on this one, I think I've divulged enough already and I do have a reputation to protect). I dreamed too of being a pop star, having a number one hit, dancing around the 'Top of the Pops' stage and having my music video appear on MTV (I may secretly still dream about achieving this!)
But above all, I dreamed of being a wonderful gymnast; doing flips and somersaults and other amazing tricks. I loved gymnastics!
As I grew up, my hopes and dreams changed but my love of gymnastics stayed with me always. I wasn't the best gymnast in the world but I didn't mind, I just loved going to my gymnastics class, learning new skills and spending time with my friends...and I loooved my coach. At home, I would spend more time upside down than the right way up and I wore the grass thin in the back garden practising an aerial cartwheel at 7 years old (which I achieved I must add - you can't fault my persistence!)
My gymnastics career was short lived but not long after I quit wearing a leotard and attempting to defy gravity with not a great deal of success, I was introduced to the world of coaching...and I loved that too, even more so than actually doing gymnastics it seems.
I got to jump around, have fun and teach all of the things that I had loved doing as a child, to impressionable, eager young gymnasts and to top it off, they actually seemed to like being taught by me. At 14 years old I wondered if there could be a better job!
Apparently not because 27 years later, I'm still doing it.
I did have a short break from the sport when I was at University studying maths, on a pathway to a career in analytical work of all things! If you'd have said to me back then that at 40 years old I would own my own gymnastics club, employ a team of people as passionate and crazy as me to help me run it, and that I would have written a book to inspire young gymnasts everywhere, my response would have probably been 'I seriously doubt it, gymnastics isn't a proper job!'.
But guess what? It absolutely is!! I have defied the odds over and over and fought hard for all that I have wanted to achieve with gymnastics, and the results speak for themselves. I have made a wonderful and potentially lifelong career out of the sport that filled my heart with such joy as a young girl and still fills me with as much joy today. (I must admit that the maths has come in handy over the years).
If that isn't a dream come true I don't know what is. So whatever it is that you dare to dream to be, or do, or achieve, never give up on it because you never quite know what you are capable of achieving. You may also not actually know what your heart truly desires until life takes you on a journey that you didn't see coming, where the destination is more beautiful than you could have ever imagined.
So sometimes in this crazy, wonderful life dreams really do come true xx
For more blog posts like this but with a little less gymnastics, click on the link below
https://justmaybeican.wordpress.com/author/ghmitchell37/