When I was eighteen years old, I was so frustrated at why I was struggling to feel confident.  It took a special friend who alerted me that my head to toe sports apparel was not going to bring me the confidence to get dates or feel good about myself.  He brought me into his dorm room and had me take off my ridiculous extra large Notre Dame sweatshirt.  He went into his closet and took out a shirt that when I put it on, I felt as if I was seeing through a new pairs of eyes.  I asked what this shirt was.  "Tommy Hilfiger," he said.  From that day on, I became fascinated with fashion and men's apparel.  If I was not going to medical school, I would have loved to have gone to FIT.

I have been fortunate to befriend someone who took the journey to make her fashion dream a career and she continues to  inspire me with her journey.  

Let's meet Jenna Lee.

Jenna and her two partners created Quieti Apparel, a fashion line of men's designer shirts.  Their shirts have been featured at Dillard's and Saks Fifth Avenue.  But that wasn't always the case.  Her story is one of curiosity, resilience, and dedication- exactly the attributes that lead to reinvention, success, and happiness.  

I caught up with Jenna recently and she shared her story.  

Jenna grew up in city called Daegu in South Korea where she went to college for fashion.  At that time, it was expected and customary of her family to marry and stay in South Korea.  But Jenna was inspired to learn of the world outside of Korea.  Specifically, she had always wanted to visit Europe and see for herself a piece of the western world.  She fell in love.  But it was still expected that upon her return, she would make her life in Korea.  

Jenna made efforts and received permission from her father to come to the US with a two month visa.  And guess what?  She never returned.  Those two months turned into attending FIT and eventually getting a job in NY as a fashion illustrator.  I can only imagine moving to a new world not knowing anyone and trying to create a life for yourself.  

Jenna eventually began working as a fashion designer and worked in the corporate world all the way though the recession in 2008.  It was then that she realized she was beginning to lose her passion for fashion.  "It became too much like a job," she reflected.  It was then that serendipitously she received a phone call from one of her current partners asking to take the leap of faith and take their expertise and make their own label.

Out of that leap of faith, not feeling victimized by the severe difficulty of the current economic outlook, Quieti Apparel was born.  Since its launch in 2012, they have grown to be an extremely successful enteprise with revenue that would inspire anyone.  Being her own boss allows Jenna the freedom to do what she loves as well as explore the world through travels to find new inspiration for her line. 

Jenna's story reminds me of keeping the long term goal present as we struggle with the mundane and the challenges of our stressful lives.  If you believe in yourself, work harder to perfect your skills, and stay positive, amazing things can happen.   

 

Quieti Apparel http://www.quietiapparel.com/
@Quieti_Apparel
Facebook - Quieti Apparel

On this beautiful past Saturday July 19th, I was fortunate enough to be asked to join the amazing CrossFit folks at Crow Hill Cross Fit in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.  

Now being honest, for some time I have avoided a Crossfit class as I was always concerned about the appearance of it's "cult" like attitude or that fitness magazines would discuss injurious related to Crossfit.  When I received an email this past week from the owner Dan to come join his class and have an intro to the hype, I was able to feel from the energy this was something special.

And indeed it was.  From the first moment I walked in, there was a special sense of camaraderie that I myself have yearned for from various attempts at gyms and leagues.  I thought it was special that Dan knew all of the names of my fellow classmates at 12pm and was aware of what each person was striving for in their personal goals.  How often do you have that personalized attention and support?!  After Dan gave a short tour, I was introduced to my instructor for the day, Robin.  

Robin showed us a board of today's goals.  

Robin gave us ten minutes to do the "warm up" which was all the exercises from the samson stretch to the pulls up.  I could barely make it through three cycles.  After this, I realized that's my normal work out!  And we were just getting started.  What was amazing in terms of moving forward and concerned about injury was that Robin made it crystal clear that form is the most important and that if she appreciated that anyone was losing form increasing their risk for injury that she would stop you and lower the weight.  But she made it super clear it was not a weakness, but a humility of one at risk for injury.  Loved the support.  

We then moved onto the deadliest and overhead squats.  This is where is really kicked into high gear.  By minute 40, I was becoming extremely nauseous and needed to take a break.  Being awesome, Dan provided his new friend a coconut water for hydration.  But I never felt a failure or below my peers.  It was complete support and never felt devalued while others were amazingly pushing more and making gains.  No sense of hierarchy that I wasn't "good enough" to be part of the squad.  

Crossfit and more specifically Dan's team was so inspiring that after my nausea passed, I felt motivated to try a few more reps and push it a little further before the hour ended.  And the compliments and praise came for trying a little harder and seeing where I could take this.  When it ended, everyone appeared to have had an amazing work out, really pleased with their performance, and for anyone who did do above their max rep or weight, an applause was provided.  

I had a chance to speak to Dan about his inspiration to own a Crossfit gym and dedicate himself to fitness he stated:

"When I started coaching that's when I really started to see the power of it - seeing normal people accomplishing things they never DREAMED of doing just a few months previous.  It could be something advanced, like getting 5 unbroken muscle-ups, or it could be something as "basic" as being able to jump on a 12" box, but seeing someone's face the moment they've realized they've accomplished their goal is a feeling that can't be replicated anywhere.  
That to me is the power and appeal of CF.  That's why people post all about their workouts on facebook and stuff.  Because it starts to become a part of their lifestyle.  They start to believe in themselves.  Someone who's goal was to "come to CF 3x/week" at the beginning, starts to believe they can do things, and they change their goal to "two handstand pushups".  They can actually SEE themselves doing something that a while ago seemed impossible.  
Getting to be a part of that community of support and encouragement is the reason that when my alarm goes off at 4:30am Monday morning, I hop out of bed, excited to go to work.  There's nothing better!"

I can summarize inspiration any better.  Overall, I felt Crossfit is an amazing workout, a great sense of team, and great sense of community.  I would highly recommend it to anyone at this point and am truly a believer.  If you are ever in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, go check this guys out!

http://www.crowhillcrossfit.com
https://twitter.com/CHCrossFit

Wow, here we are, 2014, creating a new site and beginning a new blog.  I realized as I begin to move into the second half of my thirties, I am coming to realize how precious life and time are.

As I work six days a week these days, I have to find the means to stay positive, energetic, upbeat and willingness to wake up and keep going strong.  Growing up in Brooklyn, I faced many adversities as a child, and though sometimes so tired, I still wake up looking forward to the next day and being curious of all the wonderful and beautiful things the world can offer.

I have found that through the years with the acting career, going to medical school, and finding means to continue my endeavors like writing and producing these days, that healthy and clean eating, frequent exercise, and new experiences keep me going.

I hope this blog can become a place to share some of these positive experiences, new exercise regimens, diets, and anything else in between that I think can be fruitful and educational for you the reader.  

Let's go!