Life as a fitness model...

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These tear sheets are from a lifetime ago.  I'm not as buff as I used to be. Though, I like to think that I'm still pretty strong and an "off-season in-shape". I know that I could really use a strong kick to my butt to get more fit (and a solid spray tan, I'm a little pale these days), but frankly, I'm kind of enjoying this time in my life when I am learning how to appreciate little moments.  I'm quite the busy body and always ready to go, go, go and do, do, do, but I'm finding that it's important to also know how to be still. I can be quite obsessive, so I think I'm on the other side of training  - learning how to "just be". 

Even though this is no longer my world, I share these photo shoots because I hope it shows the discipline and focus that I have as a person. When I set my mind to something, I work diligently to make it happen. I originally started fitness training because I wanted to be physically qualified for action roles in film and television. My dream has been to play Wasp Woman, or Janet van Dyne, from Ultimate Marvel because she's of Asian descent in that universe. Who doesn't want to be a super hero!

Every time I would get an audition for a martial artist, I was so excited. I have yet to book that role, but one day... !!  However, in 2013, three years after becoming a single mom to a young boy and working a full-time job, I had to make the difficult choice to put acting and fitness modelling on pause.  Working full-time at a company I felt a real dedication to was already a lot of work, but investing in my other passions on the side, while raising a young child, was a very difficult balancing act. Plus, being an American citizen trying to remain in Canada, to give my son stability, was something I couldn't compromise. I was having immigration issues with my work permit and I knew that I needed to focus on my family. Flying away to photo shoots or shuttling on the ferry for auditions became too great a risk. Raising my son as a single mother is the greatest joy of my life and I didn't want to miss a single moment. I always believed that once my son grew up, I could return to acting and fitness, but I didn't want to pay the opportunity cost of trying to have it all.  No regrets.