“Congratulations! You’re on your way!”
You know, Dr. Seuss really knew what he was talking about. I
am coming up on the 1 year anniversary of my first ever 5k, and a year really
does change a lot if you let it. All of these races have a story. I went from a
goal of “I just want to finish” to “hey… I wonder how I can start getting a
little faster next time.”
I have two races left before my anniversary on September 20th
at the Viking Challenge and I think my transformation from swimmer to runner
might be finally getting somewhere! I look forward to opportunities to run
instead of feeling miserable and suffering through it.
I can think of so many times I talked myself out of things I
wanted to do because it seemed like too much work or that it would take too
long to get somewhere with it, because a year really is a long time. That’s why
I’ve never learned to play a guitar, or started a scrapbook. The first steps
are the hardest because no one is there to tell you the best way for you to get
through it. Only you know that! And it takes a lot of experimenting and failing
to get somewhere. I always hoped I would find something that I was naturally
gifted at like the 8 year olds on talent shows on TV that just blow your mind…
but it turns out my talents are all still in there, I just have to work hard so
they work for me!
So to all of you girls out there who are having pageant-itis
and are going back and forth on your decision to compete, get on stage! If you
had the dream yesterday, don’t let yourself talk yourself out of that dream
tomorrow! You know it takes a lot of work and that it’s a big mountain to
climb, but don’t let your head tell your heart you can’t get there.
“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you
know what you know. And YOU are the one who’ll decide where to go.” Dr. Seuss
Meg Pulkrabek RD, LRD
Miss North Dakota International 2014
