One Rising Star

Throughout the summer holidays, I became more interested in the topic of running. I read some books, I attended some workshops, I joined a run club and I did lots of research on the web. In particular, after reading a book called Run the World, by Beckie Wade, I became very interested in the idea of running races internationally. So, I decided to sign up for my very first international road race in Salalah, Oman, a place I had been told was definitely worth visiting. Luckily, I was able to convince a running buddy of mine to join me on this crazy adventure. After travelling for approximately 24 hours from Canada to Dubai, I had less than another 24 hours before I needed to catch the flight to Salalah. Of course I was tired, but I wasn’t going to let that stop me from enjoying my first international race. When we arrived in Salalah, it was quite late; we checked into our hotel and headed straight to bed to get some rest. The next morning, we had breakfast and made our way to th...

Do you remember those days when you were in primary school and people asked you what you wanted to do when you grew up? At that age, anything seemed possible: professional soccer player, hip-hop dancer, fashion designer... You could dream about doing anything and everything without being scared of failure. Why is it that when we enter adulthood, doing anything and everything suddenly doesn’t seem so simple anymore? In the last two weeks, I’ve really gotten into the spirit of the Olympics and I’ve been blown away from many of the athletes’ stories. Of course, American gymnast Simone Biles, American swimmer Michael Phelps and Jamaican sprint super star Usain Bolt have been amongst my favorites to follow thus far, but these champions haven’t been the only competitors that have caught my attention.  As I continue to watch more and more events on television, it's become apparent that there are athletes of all ages at the Rio games. This year, the youngest athlete, swimmer G...

It’s been a while since I’ve contributed to my blog - not exactly because of a lack of excitement in my life, but mostly because I have been caught up in a very long phase of reflection since February, when I decided to sign on for a 5 th school year in Dubai. The decision to stay for yet another year in the UAE was a difficult one; I already had some stuff packed, I had been getting excited about the idea of moving closer to my family and I truly thought my time living overseas was due to come to an end. Somehow, I was persuaded to continue my journey, however, weeks later I was still questioning whether it was the right thing to do. Shortly after deciding to extend my stay in the Middle East, I began to look forward to my summer vacation; I really wanted to get back to North America and spend time with my family. If I wasn’t going to move anywhere close anytime soon, I wanted to hang out with everyone as much as possible. I really love my family and in livi...

Strength doesn't come from what you do, it comes from overcoming the things you once thought you couldn't. As most people know already, I love to exercise and even more, I love to challenge myself, learn and improve. Over the past 4 years especially, I have been dedicated to soccer, running and a little weightlifting, the later being my biggest challenge of all. About 3 months ago, when I decided to stay in Dubai for yet another year (that's a whole other story for another time), I decided I wanted to rejoin the gym, which I had not had time for in previous months due to work, all my soccer and running events. When I rejoined in February, I decided that I also wanted to add crossfit to my membership. Seeing as I am a certified trainer, it may seem crazy to some people that I pay the extra cash for someone else to train me, but I really wanted to meet new people, set up new challenges for myself and better yet, go to the gym and not have to think or plan w...

Of course a footballer’s dream is to play professionally, but if you can’t make it big, you may as well hang out with someone who has… Everything started a few years ago when I showed up at a women’s football tournament here in Dubai and I heard that Diego Maradona, the famous Argentinean football player, was in attendance. Everyone was so excited, sneaking around trying to meet him and to snap a picture. I on the other hand was quite calm and thought that if it was meant to be, one day, I would meet him and get a picture without having to “mob” him like everyone else. It wasn’t too long after, that I was introduced to Maradona’s girlfriend, who to my surprise joined my football squad. Then, one night after a game, I was finally photographed with the well-known footballer. Patience indeed paid off as not only did I get a picture with him, I now got to see him quite often at our games and training sessions. Furthermore, I got to speak with him several times, I got to hear him holler...