I had been training hard for the past year and a half before I decided to leave home. I had just come back from a year off work and I was slowly getting adjusted to training and working part-time. My numbers were going up and I was finally beginning to feel like I knew what I was doing. The gym no longer intimidated me. I felt strong. I felt empowered. And most of all I could snatch and clean and jerk. I had a routine and I loved it.

And then I decided to go on a trip of a lifetime and long-term travel.

Selfies can be therapeutic. Especially when you are a recovering self-hating girl who’s trying to find the beauty within herself. That’s me, a girl who is trying to love herself, a girl who is trying to reclaim her self-esteem.

I have negative body issues that I battle with every day. I've often been told that what I see in a mirror doesn't match how others view me. It used to be the case that with every photograph taken of me, it could make or break my day. A bad photo would leave me feeling vulnerable and shy. Negative feelings would take over and I’d start to feel awful about myself. But a good photo would cheer me up. It felt as if finally my outside matched how I felt on the inside: beautiful.

Have you ever had someone tell you that you can’t do something? I have, multiple times. And each time my stubbornness has driven me towards action. It’s like someone lit a fire under my ass and I find the strength and courage to do what I have to do to prove them wrong. But when my own self-doubt creeps in, it is difficult to have that "prove ‘em wrong" mentality. Instead, I find my big ego cowering in a corner whimpering “I can’t.”

"On this trip my mom reminded me that at any age you can surprise yourself, challenge yourself and even laugh at yourself."
- BOLD & FIT (Jen)

I honestly don't think my mom knows how truly wonderful I think she is. She worked her ass off to give me the life that she thought would provide me with the most happiness. She stressed the importance of honesty, kindness and a strong work ethic. She gave me independence at an early age and because of that I never wanted to let her down. And even though I've gone down a very different path than what she had imagined for me, she respects my decisions and knows that I'm happy.

I went on a backpacking trip and I cried in the middle of the Rocky Mountains.

Yes, that’s right. I cried. 1 mile in. We hadn’t even hit the halfway mark.

You see, this was only my second backpacking trip. My first was amazingly fun and pretty easy-going. So I had high hopes that this trip was going to be just as good.

“Every step felt like torture.”
— BOLD & FIT (Jen)

I did it! I strapped on my boots, put on my pack and headed to the mountains. This was my first backpacking trip and I'm thrilled that everything went as smoothly as it did.

There is so much pressure to live the perfect life. But what is the perfect life anyways? The beauty of it is: you get to decide.

We all grow up with a view of what our lives should look like. These views are shaped by our family, by our friends, by our education, and later by our significant others. And as much as we value their opinions, your life is yours and yours alone.