♥ About Me

So this is where I tell you a little about myself.

Melinda © triform.com

I’m a 31 year old woman living just outside of Philadelphia PA. I’ve lived in the same small town most of my life. I attend college all year round at West Chester University, and am completing my BFA in studio arts, with a minor in Art History.

In 2007 I was in a car accident that left me with bulging discs, I went to physical therapy, recouped, started weight lifting and running, and decided last year that I wanted, at some point in my lifetime, to compete in a triathlon. Over several months I both talked myself into and out of this process. Weight lifting is, on some days, good enough, and pushes me mentally past a lot of the barriers I had established before about what I could do physically.

Then, I had a friend who came into my life and through no small part of his own, opened a door in me that I hadn’t realized was shut before. This door has a lot to do with experiences, with caring, with kindness, with giving, with just being involved for the sake of it, without there being obligation. The door has to do with being human.

Last year my sister competed in her first Half Ironman and ran a fund-raiser for Fibromyalgia awareness, which is something I was diagnosed with over 5 years ago.

I want to do for my friend, in memory of his father to help raise support for Temple University Hospital’s Lung Center, what my sister did for me, through her sacrifice of body and of spirit. Make a difference. Share a story. Remember someone. Give.

Which is why, ultimately, I decided to sign up for the Philadelphia Women’s Triathlon.

It’s my first triathlon. Despite the training I’ve been doing since February, I’m nervous. Some days are just exhausting, and I wonder if it will be worth it.

Then I think of the dedication in my heart for Mr. M, and the people that are supporting me, and the finish line. And I know all of this is worth it.