A LITTLE FITNESS STORY

Recently I have been thinking about changing my profession. Maybe change is not the right word to explain that I want to learn something else. After finding in my mind what I would like to do, now I know that I want to be a nutritionist. When a think about physical culture (the profession that I chose when I finished my high school) I think about an exciting and beautiful job that let me help many people, the ocupation where all of my bosses have been paying me to have fun, the work where I have met interesting and good people. But now I feel that it's time to try something new and nutrition is perfect to mix with physical culture. I'm going to extend my knowledge and I will be able to help people using other ways. I'm not going to leave everything about fitness. I'm so glad when I see people having fun with my classes, I feel good when someone comes to me after class to tell me thanks or just to tell me, "Andrea your class was very cool". It's very exciting to see many people moving in front of me and maybe some kids see me as a positive influence, that some day they are going to work in what I work now.

I remember when I had the first contact with fitness. I was 15 years old. I lived with my parents in a neighborhood called Timiza and close to my apartment there was a park where people did exercises everyday. Each weekend in the park there was a stage where about more or less 100 people did aerobics and danced following a instructor called Amanda. In that time Amanda was a physical education student and every weekend I thought that it would be very nice to be like her. Some time after I discovered that in my city every Sunday and holiday many people went to "La ciclovia" to do aerobics and dance classes but many more people went to have fun and in the same time to improve their lifestyle. When I saw the ciclovia's instructors on the stage I just immediately thought that I was going to get this job one day. I was very popular between the aerobics fanatics and step by step I could met people that in the future were going to help me. One day my friend Edgar told me that "La ciclovia" helps new instructors and he said to me that I should try to get the job. I knew that "la ciclovia" needed people that were professional or students of any mayor related to health, physycal activity or sports. In that moment I was waiting for the answer in the university to study physical culture (I had to apply). I neither have any experience nor knowledge I just had the motivation but at the same time I was scared because only the best instructors work in la ciclovia. He motivated me a lot but before I faced an audition he invited me to acompany him to an aerobics marathon in "La universidad Libre". I thought that he just wanted to put me on the stage but he never told me that I had to instruct a part of the class. In that moment I was very nervous and my voice shook. I didn't know how I did it but everything was ok. After that marathon i was given an appointment to show my audition in front of a group of judges. That day I was not nervous and I was very sure that the job was going to be mine. One month later I signed my first contract. I was very lucky girl. Since then I have worked for "la ciclovia" and few days ago I signed my last contract before I leave Colombia but now as a coordinator. It means that my responsibility is to keep everything under control with instructors, dj, students, people that construct the stage and other persons that make everything easy.
I love to be a fitness instructor because it's nice to see some people that I don't know recognize me in my city. I'm not a doctor, but through my advice I can influence and improve the lifestyle of my students, I'm not a psychologist but through my classes I can make that people forget for a moment their problems. When I can touch the soul of people through my job I feel that I'm giving a little contribution to the society and their lifestyle.