Mentors

Mentors can come in your life in various forms. You never realize how much a person can influence you...some good, some not so much. I've spent many of my days wasting energy on useless trash. Take that however you like. Translation is up to you. I have found few things in my current stage in life that I find actual joy in. My family, my inner peace and BJJ. My family has been a wreck since I was small. I can't tell you what normal is, but I can tell you what isn't. LOL. As much as I swore that I wouldn't be like my mother, I slowly evolved into her. I never saw it coming. I took the wrong way and the long way every time. Going around my ass just to get to my elbow. Ridiculous. Took me years to get a good man who didn't bolt on me, gave me a chance..a few of them... and helped me become the person I wanted to be. He gave me a new life, love, faith and hope. He's been my best mentor, friend and heart in this world. I've never been able to tell him how I feel about him truly in detail, but I hope he can read between the lines...I can't find words worthy enough to begin to describe a fraction of my emotions. He is amazing. He is also responsible for turning me on to jiu jitsu.

They say when you love someone, you start to absorb their personality and mimic their characteristics. True story..learned that in psychology class. We are quite different in several ways, but there are ways that we are of one mind. I've noticed I make the same quirky noise the way he does when he's caught off guard by something funny. Like when my daughter said she wanted to be a tattoo artist until she discovered she couldn't draw. Again true story. LOL. There are other things, but you get the point. We have a common bond together, besides our kids, and that's Brazilian jiu jitsu. We are crazy about it. Our instructor has been another mentor to us. First it was the Vibram Five Finger shoes..they are fantastic and have been awesome. Then it was the the juicer..to begin a journey into the Gracie diet. We can't swear off meat, but we are all about fresh veggies and fruits and all that jazz now. We are more careful about eating and taking better care of our bodies. Then it's smaller things like frame of mind and such.

Which brings me to another person who inspires me. A girl who is quite well known in our BJJ circle. I won't single her out, but she knows who she is..or she should after reading this. This girl is amazing, her dedication to the sport is unreal. She works competitions, she trains hard and has time to blog about it, all while balancing a life, husband, job and etc. She is sponsored, competes and is a compassionate friend to many. It's of no consequence to her whether you are her best friend or mere acquaintance, you are treated just the same. She doesn't hesitates to help you progress your game. I idolize this girl. She is the shit! I was reading her blog just a few minutes ago. She wrote about peeling a stripe off her belt because she didn't feel she deserved it. That bothered me. She is awesome at what she does, she has an infectious personality and is an ideal training partner. I know everybody has off days, but to feel like she needs to peel off a stripe if nuts! It was given to her for a reason, because somebody felt like she deserved it, because she is that committed and is where she needs to be. There will always be somebody who smashes better than you..always. Fedor said that if you don't fall down sometimes, you can't stand up. Let em have their moment in the sun...(there's plenty to go around) besides you bring sunshine to others!