Moves. A super quick upper body workout before class (I got to the gym fairly late).

• 4×15 TRX rows, 3×8-10 body weight dips
• 3×6-8 lat pulldowns (I did one set of pistols but discovered that my left leg was smoked just from carrying all my weight lol)
• 3×8-10 horizontal rows
• 1×10 plank walkout to elbow plank to push-up (from @daniellegertner)

One passionate and courageous woman. I am blessed to have many friends who are extraordinary women in different ways. I am convinced that God placed every one of them in my life for a distinct purpose, to help me grow and vice versa.

One of these women is my friend, Elayne, a fellow DPT student and lover of all things health and happiness. Her passion and courage in everything she does is unlike anyone’s I’ve known (closely) in my life. She is currently doing a project on diversity in the PT/healthcare world and eradication of unjust biases in society.

throwback to first year of PT school studying medication suffixes

Yesterday in class we were discussing healthcare provider bias towards people who are obese, and the way she presented her research findings was awesome. I truly felt like I was being called higher to reflect on how I view others either implicitly or explicitly. Elayne is never afraid to call people to betterment, and she works hard to know what she’s talking about, and then she talks about it well. I was challenged in the best way not only to self-assess my biases (as both a PT-to-be and as a Catholic Christian), but also to likewise find passion and courage to call others higher for the sake of what is good and true.

One empathetic woman. Last night I cooked and ate dinner with my friend, Kelsey, a fellow Catholic friend and lover of all things beautiful. We cooked some Italian chicken (i.e., dumped Italian seasoning onto chopped chicken breasts), peppery parmesan quinoa, and roasted veggies and ate it all in bowls and talked for hours.

throwback to Christmastime 3 years ago

Kelsey and I discovered that we have been experiencing a lot of the same internal struggles and realizations, and how wonderful it was to have shared our experiences vulnerably and to leave knowing that we are not alone. It was a night filled with empathy, awe, laughter and prayer, and I was inspired to continue rejoicing in God in the little moments and to have childlike faith.

These are just two of the many women in my life who call me to be better, and thank God for that.

So tell me:

Who in your life has called you to greatness and excellence? In what ways?