No matter the placing, I finished first at my second show.

The jitters and nerves did not ramp up until 10 minutes before show time.

I competed in my first bodybuilding competition in August 2015 (blog here). Experience increases comfort and confidence. I definitely carried more of both for this second show. The 2016 NPC Central USA Natural Championships was held at the Century Link Center in Omaha, Neb.

This go around, the show seemed to fly by. Saturday morning was prejudging.


I made a few mistakes.


That evening for finals, those errors probably added to my results.


I placed second in my class.

Stage photos courtesy of npcnewsonline.com

Initially, I was bummed.


I had worked my tail off. Yet, again, I got second place.


After some reflection and kind words from my coach and friends, I knew that in reality, I finished first.


There were some tough competitors in the group. I brought a better physique and stronger confidence to this show. I also practiced posing much more and it felt much more natural on stage. For only my second show ever, placing second two times is a big accomplishment! I even made some friends along the way.

It's fun meeting other competitors, especially those who live nearby!

Why I am so critical on myself and don't take time to celebrate the little successes? It was a local show with a comforting environment.

The most comforting part was the group of people there supporting me.

I'm an outlier and I embrace it.

Have you ever felt like no one understand you? What about the fact that you think people understand you, and then a comment or situation with them proves the opposite? Do you think differently or act differently from peers?

Let me reassure you, you are not alone. I do. And I'm good with it.

Rocking rubber boots and ripped jean shorts in 2009.

Growing up was hard for me. I was always that quiet, skinny, weird girl who spent too much time working, doing well in school and getting overly involved in organizations and community activities. Being the oldest of my sister and me, I was also the "son" on the farm. This made me a bit more tomboyish and the uncanny ability to have more guy friends than girl friends. I grew out of the "shy" part a little. As for the skinny and weird, I'm still working on those. Nonetheless, in all points of my life, there is always a moment of being "the odd one out". It may have been an instance as little as my favorite farm animal being the alpaca or as large as spending five consecutive hours doing homework and student organization projects on a Saturday night. Somehow, this feeling of being different has not changed since moving from high school and college to the working world.

I received recognition at our annual college banquet for being a top
student employee in my job two years while at Ohio State. #workaholic

Now, it is a larger scale of different. I am a female in the agriculture industry. More specifically, I am a young female in the seed industry. Even as more women work in different job sectors, it is mind boggling the amount of confused looks and skeptical remarks I get when I talk to people in the grocery store and strangers in the community. Sometimes, people are genuinely supportive with responses like, "Good for you! I'm sure you'll do great." Other times, it may go more like, "Oh, that's interesting. Guess you are in the right place for that."