What Tae Kwon Do had done for me....

I originally tried to type up my story but 18 years is a long time and hard to not make a novel. :) So here is a list of things that TKD has done for me and given to me over the years.  It won't be a complete list, but it'll give you the picture.

*5th Dan black belt:  Became a Master at 23 -- the youngest and 2nd female out of the entire school.

*Importance of family:  helped with the strength of my brother and my relationship - - we don't fight and never will.

*Inner strength

*The tenets to daily life:  Courtesy, Integrity, Perseverance, Self-control and Indomitable Spirit

*Helped me get through some tough life situations:  a hard home-life(fighting w/ my dad a lot) and Derby High School (lol)  I probably would have knocked someone out and gotten into trouble if I didn't have tournaments and training to keep my focus on.

*Brought the following people into my life at the right times to name a few.....Grandmaster Kim, Master Lynn, Richard DeCou, Cody Chitwood, Martin Ruedy,  TJ LaFever, Carl Dutcher, Cassie Chitwood, Jaime Bates, Jerry Rausch, Kami Daggat(RIP),  Mike Williams, Joe Whitcomb, Michael Darling, Tom Lynn Jr.  All my former students, all my competitors

*love and support from those who really truly cared about me and/or saw the potential.

*Helped me make an impact on a girl's life, one fight at a time. :)  It was a weird feeling to have a former opponent come up to me 10 years later stating how she remembered how I kicked her ass. LOL

*Made me tough.  You try being a girl with a determined personality that would always get paired up with boys who were way taller and way stronger (Tom Lynn Jr., Cody Chitwood and etc).  I specifically remember Tom Jr. kicking me in the gut and then telling me to suck it up and not cry numerous times.

*Helped with goal setting that applied to all aspects of life

*It let me practice being a teacher before I became one.  I started instructing at age 12 and was in charge of a class or two until I was 26.  .

*Even though I'm feeling the aches and pains of the past fights, I still wear them as badges of honor because of all I accomplished.

*A ton of trophies and medals that have been a pain to move from place to place but are so important that they will never go into boxes

These are just a few things.  Words can't even describe Tae Kwon Do's impact.