Pride: What it means to be a Warrior, a Nittany Lion, and a WCRC member

When I was younger, my dad always stressed family time.  He always said that he was proud to be from Berlin and he was proud to belong to the UCC North Hampton church because of the positive impact it had on his life.  He was proud to have graduated from UNH with a degree in Civil Engineering and to have worked 40 hours a week through college.  He was relieved and excited to have served the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard for 30 years as a Nuclear Engineer.  However, he was most proud of me when he watched his daughter compete in the 2007 NCAA Finals and the 2008 Olympic Trials in the javelin  because he knew that he helped build me into the person I am today.  He taught me how to work hard and if you believed in something strong enough you could make it a reality even if everyone else around you thought that you could not do it.  He taught me to have faith in the process and he taught me that the most important thing you can do as a human being is give back to others and expect nothing in return because at some point in your life, someone did the same for you.

My dad taught me to have pride in every organization, school and club that I joined.  As a Winnacunnet Warrior, I bleed red, white and blue because I believed that if I did so others would follow and want to do the same.  I am a Winnacunnet Warrior today and the few months I have left coaching I try to pass on that same pride to every kid I coach and that it should be an honor to wear that jersey, not just a right.

As a Nittany Lion, I wear my blue and white because Penn State was the best family I had ever known differently than just my mom and dad.  They loved sports; they loved competition and they loved giving back to a good cause because they knew that they were here to do good for the world.  Every year at THON, Penn State students raise millions to support research for childhood cancer and it is the largest student run fundraiser in the country.  Why?  Because WE ARE .... PENN STATE.

It sickens me because of the pride I have in my alma mater to hear the jokes that slander the PENN STATE name because there was one child molester that hurt a lot of kids, a very horrible thing, but those who actually had the power to stop it, didn't.  In response to this, I am being proactive for change for women's health because I have seen too many friends, teammates and heroes have to take a break literally because they have a stress fracture.   Please again, if you have not already, check out the Female Athlete Triad Coalition:

www.femaleathletetriad.org

When I graduated college, I felt somewhat lost always being an athlete and no longer having a team that I belonged.  I went to local races chasing the elusive 20-min barrier and it just was not the same when I only had my mother to go back and tell about my PR or the race strategy.  I wanted more.  At the Jason Hussey 5K and at the High Street Mile, it became abundantly clear.  I saw those blue and gold Winner's Circle jerseys with a bunch of people all shapes, ages, and sizes running, enjoying themselves and smiling at the end of the race.  I knew that I wanted to be a part of that because they embodied all I had ever wanted to find in a group of athletes beyond Boys U-10 North Hampton Sting soccer, a group with a common goal working together to achieve something larger than themselves.

I found my husband talking nervously on the High St. Mile line and we got married about a year later and I found more friends that I can count that want to run, be healthy and eat whatever they want, so they can be happy and enjoy life.

                                       WCRC members after the Medical Center 6K in Nashua
                                       wearing the blue and gold proud.

Lara Bunce, who has since passed never said it better, "Life's too short to be anything but happy."

That rings more than true to all of these organizations and the experiences that I have had within them.  There are real people who are Warriors, Nittany Lions and Winner's Circle members and they care about working hard for something greater than themselves and having a family there to support them.

I soon will learn even more so as the years go on what it means to be a Marine Corps spouse and from what I have seen at the balls every November and the Marines that I have met, I will feel that same feeling of pride that rings deeply in my soul every time I hear "From the Halls of Montezuma..." (Marine Corps hymn). Semper Fi!

Enjoy December at 50 degrees. I know I am.

Heidi