I feel compelled to share when I recently witnessed two young girls truly encompass today's "strong not skinny" trend, which left me with an overwhelming feeling of joy.

I was at the gym and there were two young girls working out and I would say they were either high school seniors or maybe freshmen in college. They were primarily on their phones, doing a few workouts here and there. Normally I would be slightly annoyed and think to myself why are you here? I mean our gym mostly consists of 50+ old men getting their work out on, so there is no one to impress, meaning their standards are not that high, plus they are very focused on their need to get fit for the senior social party they are sure to be attending (OMG my mother will kill me if she reads this). Anyways. I am in the middle of some back workout when I see them posing in the mirrors. Snooping in on their conversation I hear one of them is trying to get a good angle to show off their arm/back muscles. It was so refreshing to witness and made me realize how great it is that this generation and just the current day world is putting more emphasis on being fit then being skinny.

When I was in High School it seemed the focus in magazines and just among my girlfriends was to be thin, while today it is showing off those arm and stomach muscles. It is such an amazing feeling. Back then I would always feel like a whale in a sea of sexy dolphins (are dolphins sexy?), granted my girlfriends were a number of inches shorter than me and did not house large meals and workout every day for 2-4 hours, but we all know girls are not logical in high school (truth be told who knows if we are ever truly logical) and all I saw was that I was big and they were not.

When we were done at the gym and I got in Andrews truck I told him how encouraging it was to witness those girls. Going to the gym, yes you probably want to shed some pounds, but going for a fit look makes you look healthier and makes you more confident in a world that is trying to take you down a peg or two. I hope if I ever have a daughter that she also feels confident in her muscles and supports her fellow girlfriends in being the healthiest version of themselves.

Side Note. One of the girls proceeded to so some stretching where she got herself into a full split and was leaning all the way forwards. CAN WE SAY LIFE GOAL. I told Andrew how much I envied her and he told me I would never be able to do that. CHALLENGE ACCEPTED. Due to the fact that I am probably starting in the negative, since I can not even remotely lean forward when stretching (nor can I touch by toes), I am giving myself until age 35 to complete this challenge. Maybe 40 if I come up with enough excuses.