“In February of 2012, I was seeing someone who broke up with me over text message. I took it extremely hard. I ended up taking it out on myself. I started partying all the time. I started drinking more. I even took up smoking for a period of time. It got to the point where my health became really affected from it. I was depressed. I was drinking more than ever. It was a really low point in my life. I ended up getting really sick with the flu and rather than taking care of myself I kept going. My health got worse and worse. I finally went to see a doctor, who told me I had 4 things. Severe hydration, severe exhaustion, severe sleep deprivation and a reoccurrence of the flu virus. He gave me a weeks worth of sleeping pills and put me on bed rest for a week. I couldn’t work. I couldn’t go to the gym or do anything. The doctor gave me a stern warning. That woke me up. He told me that if you don’t stop what you’re doing you’re going to put yourself in the hospital or end up in a far worse situation. After a couple of days on bed rest, I started to reflect on things. I had a clear mind and realized I was better than this. That was a real defining moment for me. That weekend I enrolled back in school for my bachelors degree. I started going to the gym and looked at it with a clearer perspective. I got away from the party scene. I started getting away from fast food. The following month, I joined a local workout class. After that, my health became a lifestyle. The more I focused on my health, the more I started to realize how good I felt. I’ve met amazing people through fitness. It’s changed my life.”