Finding Pearls

Walking on the Santa Monica pier, the ferris wheel turned,  the wooden pier was paved by the moon lit sky,  my clients asked to me, “Maggie, why are you in fitness? You’re not like the rest of the trainers out there. You have a talent.” I think she’s finished, and then she quietly adde, “…and a brain.”

“ Um…thank you?”  I wasn’t sure how to respond to this. So, I waited a moment to absorb her “compliment.”

Slightly put off, I shyly acknowledged her with a small yet demure smile and whispered “thank you.” And as I went to elaborate on my thanks, opening my mouth to speak, my client cut my off! With a piercing look in her eyes, she stated,  “why don’t you do something else? I really don’t understand why you’re wasting your talent and your time with this industry! You’re better than that” Shaking her head in disappointment and as if a lost cause, she walked away before I could respond.

“Wait!!” I thought, “Come back!”   Why are you leaving? What did I do wrong?  Was it me? Did I say and do something to aggravate her? I didn’t understand.

Pretty in Santa Monica

When I was the “fittest” and the “prettiest,” people shamed me for being “fit” and “pretty.”

And I? Well, I was ashamed of myself. 

 

People would grab my arm and squeeze my biceps and want to touch my body as if I wasn’t a real person. Without asking, they would grab and squeeze me as hard as they could. 

 

Ouch! That hurts!