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Speaker 1: Even when I get in situations that are challenging, or

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Speaker 1: I go through hurdles myself, I have to remind myself of, oh,

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Speaker 1: you've been through much worse like this is just, you know,

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Speaker 1: a little bump in the road, and it's good to

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Speaker 1: look back in the past and remind yourself of what

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Speaker 1: you've been through so that you know, okay, I can

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Speaker 1: get through this too.

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Speaker 2: Hey, everybody, Emileavadi here.

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Speaker 3: You are listening to episode two oh four of Hurdle.

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Speaker 2: A wellness focused podcast.

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Speaker 3: Reconnect with everyone from your favorite athletes to top experts

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Speaker 3: and industry CEOs about their highest highs, toughest moments, and

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Speaker 3: everything in between.

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Speaker 2: We all go through hurdles.

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Speaker 3: In life, and my goal through these discussions is to

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Speaker 3: empower you to better navigate yours and move with intention

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Speaker 3: so that you can stride towards your own potential and

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Speaker 3: of course have some fun along the way.

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Speaker 2: I am elated.

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Speaker 3: That feels like the biggest understatement to bring you this

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Speaker 3: week's conversation with paralympian Scout Bassett. Scout's story this is

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Speaker 3: the biggest understatement is one of grit and resilience. Now

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Speaker 3: when it comes to facing hurdles, Scout is no stranger.

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Speaker 3: She was born in China and abandoned after losing her

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Speaker 3: leg in a fire when she was just about eighteen

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Speaker 3: months old. She then moved into an orphanage, and we

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Speaker 3: talk extensively about what that experience was like for her today,

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Speaker 3: and was then adopted at age seven, moved to the

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Speaker 3: United States and adjusted to not only learning the ways.

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Speaker 2: Of a new culture, but also a new language.

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Speaker 1: Now.

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Speaker 3: Despite her disability, Bassett was always, always, always passionate about

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Speaker 3: sport and movement, and eventually she learned to run using.

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Speaker 2: Her prosthetic leg.

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Speaker 3: In today's episode, we talk about what it was like

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Speaker 3: to get an actual prosthetic that was made for activity,

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Speaker 3: and then.

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Speaker 2: Her drive which carried her through.

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Speaker 3: To run professionally starting with her time at UCLA. We

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Speaker 3: talk about the grit and tenacity that it took for

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Speaker 3: her herself to make it to the Paralympic Games and

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Speaker 3: what the competition was like, what that felt like, and

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Speaker 3: the hurdle of sitting out on competition for the twenty

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Speaker 3: twenty Games and instead commentating on the.

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Speaker 2: Action for NBC.

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Speaker 3: So grateful for Scout being so willing to get vulnerable

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Speaker 3: and open about her experience her story truly when I

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Speaker 3: say it is unbelievable, her strength is just it's unrivaled

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Speaker 3: and it's so so beautiful. Now, I do feel like

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Speaker 3: I have some new hurdlers in the mix lately, especially

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Speaker 3: after the slew of live shows last week in Boston.

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Speaker 3: So I want to say welcome and yep, I just

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Speaker 3: called you a hurdler.

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Speaker 2: That's what I call the audience.

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Speaker 3: I'd love for you to connect with one another in

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Speaker 3: the Facebook group.

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Speaker 2: It's called the Super Secret Hurdler's Facebook Group. It's not

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Speaker 2: secret at all.

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Speaker 3: The link to join it is in the show notes.

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Speaker 3: And stay up to date with what's going on with me,

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Speaker 3: what's going on with the show, and get more of

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Speaker 3: the inspiration and motivation you love directly in your inbox

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Speaker 3: every single Friday with the weekly Hurdle newsletter. The link

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Speaker 3: to subscribe is in the show notes and bonus. The

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Speaker 3: best part is it's free. Of course, always stay up

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Speaker 3: to date with the show, the guests, and me. Over

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Speaker 3: on social media, you can find Hurdle over at Perdle Podcast.

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Speaker 2: I am over at.

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Speaker 3: Emily a Body and while you're at it, while I'm

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Speaker 3: in the midst of all this housekeeping, leave a review,

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Speaker 3: will you, It wouldn't mean the world to me. Just

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Speaker 3: take a few seconds head on over to the Apple

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Speaker 3: Podcasts store or wherever you are listening to this podcast,

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Speaker 3: rate and review the show, Send an episode to a

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Speaker 3: friend and let me know what keeps you coming back

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Speaker 3: time and time again to Hurdle every week. And with that,

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Speaker 3: let's get to hurdling today. I am sitting down with

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Speaker 3: Scout Bassett. How you doing today's Scout.

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Speaker 1: I'm great, Emily, Thanks so much for having me. Super

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Speaker 1: excited to join your podcast.

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Speaker 3: I am so excited to have you join my podcast.

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Speaker 3: I'll be honest with you, the hurdler. So that's what

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Speaker 3: I refer to the listeners of the show. They have

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Speaker 3: been asking for me to chat with you for some

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Speaker 3: time now.

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Speaker 1: Oh my gosh, Well, no pressure here, but it's quite

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Speaker 1: an honor for me to be here with you.

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Speaker 3: The thing that I want to kick start off with

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Speaker 3: you is something that I've seen you speak about on

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Speaker 3: your great platforms in the past, and that is about

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Speaker 3: the fact that fifteen percent of the global population, that's

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Speaker 3: one a billion people worldwide, are living with some sort

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Speaker 3: of a disability, whether that is visible or invisible.

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Speaker 2: You a paralympian.

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Speaker 4: Do you feel as though, at this point in your

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Speaker 4: athletic career that your disability has almost gotten to define you.

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Speaker 1: Wow, that's a great question. Yes, and no, I think

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Speaker 1: what is difficult sometimes is people know you for that, right.

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Speaker 1: It's like always, oh yeah, the girl with the prosthetic

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Speaker 1: or the amputee or the girl with the one leg,

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Speaker 1: and that is oftentimes sort of the thing that people

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Speaker 1: you know know you for. And on the other hand,

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Speaker 1: I'm not upset about it because it is something that

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Speaker 1: is unique. It's obviously not super common or you know,

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Speaker 1: every day, and so I do respect that fact that,

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Speaker 1: you know, I'm very proud of everything that I stand

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Speaker 1: for and all the things that really make me me.

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Speaker 1: I don't want to fight those things, you know. I

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Speaker 1: think so many people get in these positions and they

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Speaker 1: don't want to be a part of a community that

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Speaker 1: they belong in, right, They're resistant to that. And I

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Speaker 1: don't feel that way, and so, but yes, it is sometimes,

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Speaker 1: you know, frustrating when all people know you or or

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Speaker 1: they the first thing they think of when they think

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Speaker 1: of you is not anything about who you are as

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Speaker 1: a person, but oh yeah, she's the one leg.

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Speaker 5: You know.

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Speaker 1: So yeah, that's the part where you know obviously, and

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Speaker 1: I think that's globally. Like I talking with people with

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Speaker 1: disabilities everywhere, they always say that I wish my disability

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Speaker 1: was just a side note and not necessarily the lead

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Speaker 1: to who I am, and so I can very much

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Speaker 1: understand that too.

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Speaker 4: When you think about who you are at your core,

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Speaker 4: when you describe yourself, who is Scout Bassett.

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Speaker 1: It's constantly evolving, I think in some ways and changing

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Speaker 1: just because you know I'm changing and I'm growing and evolving.

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Speaker 1: But at the core of who I am as somebody

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Speaker 1: who's extremely passionate about what I do. I'm passionate about

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Speaker 1: my craft. Everything that I do has a sense of

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Speaker 1: purpose or meaning for me. I don't have a lot

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Speaker 1: of free time, so given that the projects, the things

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Speaker 1: that I invest my time in are things that mean

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Speaker 1: something to me and say something about who I am

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Speaker 1: or what I represent or what I'm passionate about. And

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Speaker 1: so that I would say is who I am. It's

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Speaker 1: just somebody who's really passionate about things, passionate about making change,

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Speaker 1: passionate about creating pathways for others, and passionate about really

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Speaker 1: being the very best that I can be and not

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Speaker 1: just for myself but for others. And I think the

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Speaker 1: other thing I would say about me is I'm somebody

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Speaker 1: who is just extremely resilient, very strong. I've been through

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Speaker 1: a lot of really hard things in my life, and

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Speaker 1: even when I get in situations that are challenging or

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Speaker 1: I go through hurdles myself, I have to remind myself of, oh,

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Speaker 1: you've been through much worse like this is just you know,

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Speaker 1: a little bump in the road, and it's good to

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Speaker 1: look back in the past and remind yourself of what

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Speaker 1: you've been through so that you know, Okay, I can

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Speaker 1: get through this too. So I think that I would

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Speaker 1: say that's a quality I'm really proud about of myself.

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Speaker 2: Resiliency. That's absolutely beautiful.

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Speaker 4: And I really appreciated what you started off by saying that.

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Speaker 2: Note that I accept that this is.

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Speaker 3: Who I am, and I can totally sympathize and hear

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Speaker 3: where you're coming from with that, because there are some things,

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Speaker 3: you know, whether it be circumstance or just you know,

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Speaker 3: the way that life goes, there are things that are

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Speaker 3: going to be out of our control.

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Speaker 2: So I hear you now.

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Speaker 3: But I would have to assume that, you know, maybe

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Speaker 3: you didn't always feel that way about your circumstance.

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Speaker 2: Can you talk to me a little bit about that?

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Speaker 1: Yeah? I think so much of life is about things

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Speaker 1: that you cannot change about ourselves, right, It's things you're

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Speaker 1: born into. It's things that you are born with, qualities, characteristics,

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Speaker 1: whether it's your ethnicity, whether it's the shape or size

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Speaker 1: of your body, or whether it's circumstances that you had

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Speaker 1: absolutely no control over. And while I've never spent a

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Speaker 1: lot a lot of time wallowing in those things, certainly

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Speaker 1: there have been moments where I'm the human part of

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Speaker 1: me says, oh, I wish it didn't have to be

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Speaker 1: like this, or I wish I was this and not this.

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Speaker 1: You know, I'll give you an example. I am a runner,

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Speaker 1: a sprinter, and I am only four nine and probably

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Speaker 1: way the size of like a newborn calf, I'm guessing,

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Speaker 1: and in a sport where size to some element does matter.

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Speaker 1: When you are competing and you told the start line

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Speaker 1: and women next to you are much taller and have

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Speaker 1: a lot more size than you and don't have to

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Speaker 1: work quite as hard or as quickly as you. That's

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Speaker 1: those are times where you know I say, oh gosh,

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Speaker 1: I wish I was a little bit taller. I wish

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Speaker 1: I had a little bit more size on me. And

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Speaker 1: obviously that's not something I can change, right, can't change

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Speaker 1: my genetic makeup in that sense, But in terms of

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Speaker 1: life circumstances, being in the orphanage, losing my leg, coming

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Speaker 1: here to America, being adopted, all the struggles that I've

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Speaker 1: been through on that journey are things that I obviously

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Speaker 1: can't change. And the circumstances of my experience and the

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Speaker 1: orphanage and having to make peace with that and to

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Speaker 1: have a sense of acceptance of like, this is the

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Speaker 1: experiences you've lived through, this is your story, this is

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Speaker 1: your past. But it doesn't have to be something that

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Speaker 1: you're a prisoner of and or a place that you

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Speaker 1: have to be parked at forever. You can move forward

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Speaker 1: from those things. You can heal, you can become whole,

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Speaker 1: and if you allow it, those things can be the

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Speaker 1: very things that give you strength and power and really

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Speaker 1: help you to be all that you can be and

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Speaker 1: also to help somebody else. So I have definitely had

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Speaker 1: to have that mind shift of Okay, for so long,

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Speaker 1: it was about survival, It was about working through these things.

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Speaker 1: It was about coping, It was about that healing journey.

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Speaker 1: It was about navigating the dark seasons that you go

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Speaker 1: through when you go experience something so traumatic, things that

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Speaker 1: break you down as a person. And that's what I

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Speaker 1: felt like I was doing for a long chunk of

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Speaker 1: my life is just Okay, I've just got to survive.

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Speaker 1: I've got to get through this. And now I can

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Speaker 1: have a sense of Okay, not only have I gotten

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Speaker 1: through it, but I'm going to embrace it, accept it,

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Speaker 1: and use this as something that really powers me and strengthens.

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Speaker 4: Me right, not just how can you survive, but how

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Speaker 4: can you thrive with the circumstances in the hand that

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Speaker 4: you've been dealt. You mentioned being born in China and

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Speaker 4: being a bad after losing your leg and a fire

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Speaker 4: when you were just eighteen months old. You also talked

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Speaker 4: about the orphanage. Talk to us a little bit about

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Speaker 4: that upbringing in China.

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Speaker 1: It's an experience that I would never wish on another

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Speaker 1: human being, the kind of experience that leaves you absolutely

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Speaker 1: broken and devastated to your core and just unthinkable things

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Speaker 1: of abuse, of neglect, of hopelessness, of desperation, things you

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Speaker 1: do out of complete desperation, really a sense of survival

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Speaker 1: right of every day, like I've just got to make

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Speaker 1: it another day. And I tell people I'm obviously a

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Speaker 1: big dreamer now and I have big dreams, but I

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Speaker 1: was not that growing up, because there was no such

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Speaker 1: thing as that. You never dreamt of life beyond the

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Speaker 1: next day, of just can I survive today to make

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Speaker 1: it to tomorrow. And so when I say that, I

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Speaker 1: am really paint a picture of such isolation, such darkness,

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Speaker 1: and I even look back and wonder how I even

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Speaker 1: survived that, because it's just things that you wouldn't You

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Speaker 1: don't think a person could really make it through the

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Speaker 1: amount of pain that you live with, both physical, emotional, mental,

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Speaker 1: and to be such a young person and to have

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Speaker 1: to figure that out when you're that young, you don't

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Speaker 1: have the coping skills, the maturity to be able to

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Speaker 1: handle a lot of that kind of you know, pain

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Speaker 1: and trauma and heartache. But somehow you do. Right every

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Speaker 1: day you survive, you get by. But I think that

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Speaker 1: I can look back now and say that I wouldn't

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Speaker 1: change a single thing. I don't regret anything that's happened

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Speaker 1: as traumatic and horrific as that experience was, I know

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Speaker 1: that I wouldn't be the person that I am today.

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Speaker 1: I know that I wouldn't have the strength, the courage,

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Speaker 1: the resilience, the will to keep going, to push forward

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Speaker 1: had I not been sort of forced into a situation

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Speaker 1: to develop that at such a young age. And so

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Speaker 1: I can really appreciate that experience for that reason. To

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Speaker 1: say that it was hard is an understatement. It's beyond that.

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Speaker 1: I don't know if there's a word to really describe

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Speaker 1: what you live through day in and day out, because

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Speaker 1: most people wouldn't even have a context for that. Yere

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Speaker 1: devastating on so many levels.

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Speaker 3: Can you remember some of the conditions of what it

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Speaker 3: was like for you in that orphanage?

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Speaker 1: Yeah? Mind you. I was almost eight years old when I.

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Speaker 2: Left, so right.

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Speaker 1: People are always so shocked by that, And when you're

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Speaker 1: almost that age, you have the ability to form memories

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Speaker 1: and emotions and feelings. We never left the premises of

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Speaker 1: that place, So in the seven years that I lived there,

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Speaker 1: never left the grounds of that orphanage. And I remember

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Speaker 1: from our playroom, or our not our playroom, but our

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Speaker 1: living room where all the beds are, we could see

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Speaker 1: a playground outside sort of this dirty window, and you

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Speaker 1: there was swings, there was a slide, there were some bars,

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Speaker 1: and it kind of looked like there's something that goes

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Speaker 1: off in your head. Okay, that looks like something that

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Speaker 1: we should be on, I should be on. But instead

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Speaker 1: of allowing us to go outside and play on the playground,

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Speaker 1: they hung laundry to dry over the playground, so like

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Speaker 1: sheets and blankets and whatnot. And it's just like, that's

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Speaker 1: something that's so poignant in my mind and vivid because

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Speaker 1: I remember that being something that was really characteristic of

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Speaker 1: a lot of our experiences. You'd see something that or

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Speaker 1: feel something that was meant for you, and then it's like, nope,

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Speaker 1: not for you, you know, and just so much of

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Speaker 1: those happy or potentially happy memories or experiences just dropped.

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Speaker 1: And no access to television, books, radio, We never got

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Speaker 1: a formal education while we were there, and just spent

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Speaker 1: my days of doing chores, manual labor. The form of

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Speaker 1: punishments when you misbehaved, or even if you didn't misbehave,

287
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Speaker 1: but perhaps they thought you were challenging their authority or

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Speaker 1: their control led to just unreal abuse, and I think

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Speaker 1: that's the part of you that you just never forget,

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Speaker 1: you know, that never leaves you. Even with the amount

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Speaker 1: of therapy and work that you do and healing that

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Speaker 1: you do. Those are scars that are imprinted on your

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Speaker 1: soul that never go away. And I share that because

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Speaker 1: I think so many people have this idea of healing

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Speaker 1: or they go through something traumatic, and they think that

296
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Speaker 1: in order to heal or to be whole, that those

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Speaker 1: things have to be completely erased or forgotten, and that

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Speaker 1: until that happens, you're not whole again. And that's not true.

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Speaker 1: I think you can very much heal and become whole

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Speaker 1: from an experience and still have very deep scars, physical

301
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Speaker 1: and invisible, not a lot of away, not a lot

302
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Speaker 1: of like what were some of your best childhood memories? Well,

303
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Speaker 1: mine is not gonna look like some of you know yours,

304
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Speaker 1: and that's okay too, And so I just remember the

305
00:19:12,000 --> 00:19:15,800
Speaker 1: every day you go to sleep and you just you

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Speaker 1: know what tomorrow is going to be because it's the same.

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Speaker 1: It's like groundhogs Day, where it's like the same, You're

308
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Speaker 1: doing the same thing every day and nothing ever changes.

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Speaker 1: But then also you never really get that feeling of

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Speaker 1: hope that things are going to change, or that your

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Speaker 1: fate is something's going to be different. I think that's

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Speaker 1: a hard thing to sort of live through and just

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Speaker 1: mentally too.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, of course, And I believe that in doing my

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00:19:44,080 --> 00:19:47,960
Speaker 4: research that there was a certain amount of time that

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Speaker 4: you could ultimately spend in this orphanage before you couldn't

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Speaker 4: stay there any longer. So you going through this groundhog's

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Speaker 4: day time and time again. Also so losing your friends

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Speaker 4: at one point or another without much of an understanding

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Speaker 4: or explanation.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, and I haven't spoken too much about this, but

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Speaker 1: that is a reality that is also very in itself

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Speaker 1: a form of heartbreak that it's just impossible to put

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Speaker 1: words around. Right. You have to remember that in this

325
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Speaker 1: room of five to ten year olds, there's about fifty

326
00:20:30,320 --> 00:20:34,040
Speaker 1: of us. You don't have parents, you don't have family.

327
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Speaker 1: There's not love going around, not a lot of nurturing

328
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Speaker 1: going around. And so I mean, obviously there's adults that

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Speaker 1: are your quote caretakers, but the other children are really

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Speaker 1: your family and who you form your bond and your

331
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Speaker 1: connection with. It's the sense of we are all in

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Speaker 1: this together, even if it's poor, even if it's bleak,

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Speaker 1: like just the fact that you have other people that

334
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Speaker 1: are walking through the same journey and experience is something

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Speaker 1: that's very comforting. And as you get older, you start

336
00:21:13,680 --> 00:21:17,920
Speaker 1: to get this panic because and anxiety because you start

337
00:21:17,960 --> 00:21:22,359
Speaker 1: seeing these people suddenly leave. And I'll give you an example.

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Speaker 1: This one young girl was a few years older than

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Speaker 1: I was and at ten years old at the time.

340
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Speaker 1: If you were not adopted or they didn't assign you

341
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Speaker 1: somewhere else, you are just forced out of the orphanage.

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Speaker 1: And although there's not really been a direct answer, even

343
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Speaker 1: when I went back in twenty sixteen, they couldn't really say,

344
00:21:49,520 --> 00:21:52,000
Speaker 1: they didn't say or want to say, what really happened,

345
00:21:52,359 --> 00:21:57,480
Speaker 1: the idea is painted quite clearly that you are just

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Speaker 1: you know, you're homeless more yes, And I remember that

347
00:22:02,720 --> 00:22:05,200
Speaker 1: in the last two years, near the last two years

348
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Speaker 1: that I was there, this girl who was a few

349
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Speaker 1: years older than I was, so she was approaching that

350
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Speaker 1: age ten year was my lifeline. She was my best

351
00:22:15,280 --> 00:22:17,639
Speaker 1: friend at the orphanage, helped to take care of me.

352
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Speaker 1: At that time, most of the orphans were just girls.

353
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Speaker 1: They didn't necessarily have a disability. In fact, it wasn't

354
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Speaker 1: all that common to even have a disability and the orphanage.

355
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Speaker 1: The orphanages were just flooded with girls in a country

356
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Speaker 1: that had a one child policy, So she didn't have

357
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Speaker 1: a disability, but she really because she didn't have one,

358
00:22:41,200 --> 00:22:45,320
Speaker 1: she helped that time. I barely had a prosthetic, but

359
00:22:45,520 --> 00:22:49,159
Speaker 1: just growing up, you know, up until they made me one,

360
00:22:49,800 --> 00:22:52,280
Speaker 1: she really helped me to get around and you know,

361
00:22:52,560 --> 00:22:57,000
Speaker 1: just was such a great, really caretaker and I formed

362
00:22:57,000 --> 00:23:01,200
Speaker 1: this like just to well bond with her. And then

363
00:23:01,280 --> 00:23:04,600
Speaker 1: in the last year or two that I was there,

364
00:23:04,680 --> 00:23:08,040
Speaker 1: she was just gone one day, like it would be

365
00:23:08,160 --> 00:23:14,159
Speaker 1: like your parents or your sibling, and one day you

366
00:23:14,280 --> 00:23:17,680
Speaker 1: wake up and you never see them again, and nobody

367
00:23:17,720 --> 00:23:22,200
Speaker 1: tells you what's happened to them where they've gone, Like

368
00:23:22,359 --> 00:23:25,919
Speaker 1: you have no answers. And that was for me, like,

369
00:23:26,040 --> 00:23:30,520
Speaker 1: and I think a part of me just it's like

370
00:23:30,600 --> 00:23:34,320
Speaker 1: another form of grief, you know, and loss, except you

371
00:23:34,440 --> 00:23:38,280
Speaker 1: have no answers of what's happened to them. And that

372
00:23:38,440 --> 00:23:43,879
Speaker 1: for me was absolutely just crushing. And that's a common

373
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Speaker 1: thing that happens though at a certain age you age

374
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Speaker 1: out and people leave, but they don't tell you what's

375
00:23:49,720 --> 00:23:55,160
Speaker 1: happened to them, And yeah, that just really.

376
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Speaker 4: Devastating, absolutely heartbreaking to hear that, and I appreciate you

377
00:23:59,640 --> 00:24:03,359
Speaker 4: for sharing that, and also so interested about what it

378
00:24:03,440 --> 00:24:07,000
Speaker 4: was like for you to go back in twenty sixteen.

379
00:24:07,040 --> 00:24:09,280
Speaker 4: Not to jump around too much, but I feel like

380
00:24:09,520 --> 00:24:12,080
Speaker 4: I need, I need to hear a little bit about that.

381
00:24:12,280 --> 00:24:16,479
Speaker 1: One of the if not the most profound experience of

382
00:24:16,560 --> 00:24:22,959
Speaker 1: my life. That's something I've always wanted to do, but

383
00:24:23,400 --> 00:24:26,639
Speaker 1: there's never the right times for it. Right there's nothing

384
00:24:27,080 --> 00:24:30,720
Speaker 1: that prepares you for an experience like that. You're never

385
00:24:30,760 --> 00:24:33,960
Speaker 1: going to be fully ready from an emotional standpoint to

386
00:24:34,040 --> 00:24:38,480
Speaker 1: handle that kind of experience. But when I got the opportunity,

387
00:24:38,640 --> 00:24:41,640
Speaker 1: I said I would I would always take it because

388
00:24:41,760 --> 00:24:43,280
Speaker 1: you just don't know if you're ever going to get

389
00:24:43,280 --> 00:24:47,760
Speaker 1: it again. And something that was really wonderful about going

390
00:24:47,800 --> 00:24:51,359
Speaker 1: back in twenty sixteen is that it was the exact

391
00:24:51,400 --> 00:24:56,640
Speaker 1: same orphanage at the exact same location, and two years

392
00:24:56,720 --> 00:25:01,200
Speaker 1: later they moved to a new, new place. So I'm

393
00:25:01,240 --> 00:25:03,959
Speaker 1: really glad that I was able to have that experience

394
00:25:04,040 --> 00:25:09,240
Speaker 1: of seeing my original orphanage. Still, when I was able

395
00:25:09,280 --> 00:25:12,680
Speaker 1: to go back, I went into that experience saying that

396
00:25:13,119 --> 00:25:17,679
Speaker 1: I didn't want to be resentful. I didn't want to

397
00:25:17,720 --> 00:25:22,080
Speaker 1: be bitter going there, even though my experience was or

398
00:25:22,200 --> 00:25:27,280
Speaker 1: obviously really difficult, But I just said I wanted to

399
00:25:27,320 --> 00:25:30,560
Speaker 1: give as much love and hope as I possibly could

400
00:25:30,600 --> 00:25:34,960
Speaker 1: to the children. And I was able to go there

401
00:25:35,000 --> 00:25:39,760
Speaker 1: with my partner, Nike, and we just had this mission

402
00:25:39,800 --> 00:25:41,600
Speaker 1: that we were going to go. And one of the

403
00:25:41,640 --> 00:25:44,920
Speaker 1: things that I remember about my childhood there was that

404
00:25:45,280 --> 00:25:52,600
Speaker 1: we never got to quote play. There was no soccer balls, basketballs,

405
00:25:52,720 --> 00:25:56,080
Speaker 1: jump rope, there were no like real toys and so

406
00:25:56,400 --> 00:25:59,720
Speaker 1: or activities. And so I wanted to come and we

407
00:25:59,800 --> 00:26:05,040
Speaker 1: gave just so many basketballs and soccer balls and jump

408
00:26:05,119 --> 00:26:09,000
Speaker 1: ropes and toys, and it was just incredible. But I

409
00:26:09,080 --> 00:26:12,399
Speaker 1: just wanted to share as much love and as much

410
00:26:12,680 --> 00:26:15,600
Speaker 1: hope as I could with these kids, and that's what

411
00:26:15,640 --> 00:26:17,440
Speaker 1: the experience was. We got to spend a whole day

412
00:26:17,480 --> 00:26:21,440
Speaker 1: there and just to be able to see the light

413
00:26:22,000 --> 00:26:25,159
Speaker 1: in these kids eyes when they saw me. Now, the

414
00:26:25,320 --> 00:26:32,320
Speaker 1: orphanage over ninety percent is with children with disabilities. For

415
00:26:32,400 --> 00:26:35,520
Speaker 1: them to sort of see somebody that looks like them

416
00:26:37,200 --> 00:26:38,639
Speaker 1: and just to be able to connect with them on

417
00:26:38,680 --> 00:26:41,920
Speaker 1: that level was just incredible. But what I will say

418
00:26:41,920 --> 00:26:46,200
Speaker 1: about that experience is that was really the turning point

419
00:26:46,280 --> 00:26:53,000
Speaker 1: of my healing journey because up until then I really

420
00:26:53,040 --> 00:26:58,879
Speaker 1: hadn't addressed a lot of what that experience, the impact

421
00:26:58,960 --> 00:27:01,560
Speaker 1: that it had on me my life. You know, you

422
00:27:01,600 --> 00:27:05,640
Speaker 1: come here and you just try to you know, assimilate here,

423
00:27:05,840 --> 00:27:08,359
Speaker 1: and you're trying to get by and all these things,

424
00:27:08,400 --> 00:27:10,800
Speaker 1: and you kind of really haven't had a lot of

425
00:27:10,800 --> 00:27:15,840
Speaker 1: time to really reflect and think about the how such

426
00:27:15,920 --> 00:27:19,240
Speaker 1: an experience like that leaves you right and so for

427
00:27:19,280 --> 00:27:22,680
Speaker 1: me to be able to afterwards, I didn't cry single

428
00:27:22,720 --> 00:27:26,600
Speaker 1: tier while I was there, but as soon as I left,

429
00:27:26,840 --> 00:27:30,760
Speaker 1: there was such a I mean there was tears for

430
00:27:30,920 --> 00:27:35,960
Speaker 1: months after that, and I finally realized, Okay, I need

431
00:27:36,000 --> 00:27:40,600
Speaker 1: to go and talk to somebody and work through everything

432
00:27:40,680 --> 00:27:43,520
Speaker 1: I've gone through in that experience of you know, from

433
00:27:43,560 --> 00:27:45,639
Speaker 1: when I was a kid to come going back and

434
00:27:45,960 --> 00:27:51,080
Speaker 1: all of that. So it's really just a wonderful experience

435
00:27:51,119 --> 00:27:54,320
Speaker 1: in that sense of I think a lot of times

436
00:27:54,400 --> 00:27:57,920
Speaker 1: we can't move forward from something until you face the

437
00:27:58,080 --> 00:28:02,600
Speaker 1: very place the people that perhaps broke you. For me,

438
00:28:03,200 --> 00:28:05,440
Speaker 1: I didn't realize how long I had been parked at

439
00:28:05,480 --> 00:28:10,879
Speaker 1: that place of pain, of loss, of trauma until I

440
00:28:11,000 --> 00:28:13,359
Speaker 1: was able to go back to the orphanage, and I

441
00:28:13,400 --> 00:28:17,240
Speaker 1: saw that okay, Well, in the physical sense, I'm okay,

442
00:28:17,400 --> 00:28:21,399
Speaker 1: but emotional and mentally I'm still not okay. And so

443
00:28:22,240 --> 00:28:27,199
Speaker 1: I wanted down a really dark couple of years of

444
00:28:27,440 --> 00:28:33,000
Speaker 1: having to work through that, getting therapy, medical help, all

445
00:28:33,040 --> 00:28:38,080
Speaker 1: of that to really heal from that experience. And I

446
00:28:38,120 --> 00:28:41,400
Speaker 1: didn't really know I needed it that bad, but I'm

447
00:28:41,440 --> 00:28:45,320
Speaker 1: really glad I was able to just confront it and realize, like,

448
00:28:46,280 --> 00:28:48,840
Speaker 1: this is some heavy stuff, and until you deal with

449
00:28:48,920 --> 00:28:51,920
Speaker 1: it and you work through it, you're you're always going

450
00:28:52,000 --> 00:28:54,600
Speaker 1: to be parked at this place and you're never going

451
00:28:54,680 --> 00:28:56,120
Speaker 1: to be able to reach your full potential.

452
00:28:57,000 --> 00:29:01,880
Speaker 3: And to your point here, grief is in linear journey.

453
00:29:02,000 --> 00:29:05,960
Speaker 3: As you said earlier as well, everyone that you walk

454
00:29:06,040 --> 00:29:09,080
Speaker 3: by on the street has their own story and is

455
00:29:09,160 --> 00:29:10,440
Speaker 3: navigating so much grief.

456
00:29:10,480 --> 00:29:13,640
Speaker 2: And for you to be carrying this around not just.

457
00:29:13,600 --> 00:29:16,800
Speaker 3: Like the emotional anguish that I cannot even fathom, but

458
00:29:17,160 --> 00:29:20,600
Speaker 3: I'm sure in certain ways physically also, this grief was

459
00:29:20,800 --> 00:29:24,840
Speaker 3: manifesting within your body in so many different ways.

460
00:29:25,280 --> 00:29:30,280
Speaker 1: Yeah, you feel that right, the anxiety, the stress, the tension,

461
00:29:30,520 --> 00:29:33,880
Speaker 1: the physical pain, absolutely, and I think it can be

462
00:29:34,680 --> 00:29:38,440
Speaker 1: in some ways all encompassing, right, it can be, it

463
00:29:38,440 --> 00:29:42,080
Speaker 1: can fill and completely consume your mind, but it can

464
00:29:42,120 --> 00:29:46,080
Speaker 1: also consume your emotions and your physical state too. And

465
00:29:47,440 --> 00:29:50,480
Speaker 1: a lot of times we think we're okay because we've

466
00:29:50,520 --> 00:29:53,440
Speaker 1: had success, right, or we're doing so well, or on

467
00:29:53,480 --> 00:29:56,240
Speaker 1: the outside people look at you and they're like, oh,

468
00:29:56,280 --> 00:30:00,640
Speaker 1: but she's living her dream and she's so well, there's

469
00:30:00,680 --> 00:30:06,240
Speaker 1: no possibil a way she's struggling. And I think that

470
00:30:06,800 --> 00:30:11,800
Speaker 1: what's important is that even in the midst of living

471
00:30:11,840 --> 00:30:16,400
Speaker 1: your dreams, there can also be a tremendous amount of suffering.

472
00:30:17,520 --> 00:30:20,240
Speaker 1: That's part of the human condition, and it's part of

473
00:30:20,280 --> 00:30:24,880
Speaker 1: the condition that we don't always want to recognize or

474
00:30:24,920 --> 00:30:30,080
Speaker 1: admit is there. Even while you can be perfectly successful,

475
00:30:30,640 --> 00:30:34,080
Speaker 1: you can be, you know, having everything, you can be

476
00:30:34,120 --> 00:30:36,800
Speaker 1: living your dream, you can have everything that somebody else

477
00:30:36,840 --> 00:30:40,160
Speaker 1: would want. And that doesn't mean that there isn't a

478
00:30:40,200 --> 00:30:43,280
Speaker 1: considerable amount of suffering going on. Two things can be

479
00:30:43,320 --> 00:30:47,480
Speaker 1: true at the same time, and that is also very

480
00:30:47,560 --> 00:30:50,640
Speaker 1: human and very normal to go through.

481
00:30:50,480 --> 00:30:55,880
Speaker 4: That both and this idea that it's not like it's

482
00:30:55,960 --> 00:31:01,720
Speaker 4: life without gratitude. Yes, there is gratitude. There can also

483
00:31:01,880 --> 00:31:06,520
Speaker 4: be suffering. There can also be trauma. There can also be,

484
00:31:07,080 --> 00:31:10,680
Speaker 4: as you mentioned here, so many things that those that

485
00:31:10,760 --> 00:31:14,440
Speaker 4: may have an opinion on the success may not be.

486
00:31:14,560 --> 00:31:17,040
Speaker 2: Seeing from where they sit.

487
00:31:17,200 --> 00:31:17,560
Speaker 4: Now.

488
00:31:17,640 --> 00:31:21,720
Speaker 3: We did talk about this extremely traumatic chapter for you,

489
00:31:22,000 --> 00:31:25,960
Speaker 3: but the silver lining is that you do come over

490
00:31:26,440 --> 00:31:29,360
Speaker 3: to America and you get adopted.

491
00:31:29,440 --> 00:31:31,440
Speaker 2: So talk to us a little bit about.

492
00:31:31,200 --> 00:31:34,480
Speaker 4: The childhood that you remember that was a little bit

493
00:31:34,520 --> 00:31:37,000
Speaker 4: sunnier than what you experienced before that time.

494
00:31:38,000 --> 00:31:44,320
Speaker 1: Yeah, I would say that obviously being adopted right up

495
00:31:44,360 --> 00:31:46,840
Speaker 1: there with one of the best things that's ever happened

496
00:31:47,080 --> 00:31:49,560
Speaker 1: to me in my life. I certainly don't think I

497
00:31:49,600 --> 00:31:53,720
Speaker 1: would have probably made it to this point in terms

498
00:31:53,800 --> 00:31:56,440
Speaker 1: of like, I don't know that I'd still be alive

499
00:31:56,480 --> 00:32:02,000
Speaker 1: today if I wasn't adopted. I say that because when

500
00:32:02,000 --> 00:32:04,960
Speaker 1: I left the orphanage at almost eight years old, I

501
00:32:05,000 --> 00:32:11,040
Speaker 1: weigh twenty two pounds. That's a size to toddler, I

502
00:32:11,040 --> 00:32:13,000
Speaker 1: mean some one year old or that by the end

503
00:32:13,040 --> 00:32:21,640
Speaker 1: of their first year, and so clearly physically malnourished, very weak.

504
00:32:22,200 --> 00:32:25,000
Speaker 1: I mean, to be eight and twenty two pounds is

505
00:32:26,280 --> 00:32:32,320
Speaker 1: it's un almost unthinkable. And so you know, I'm obviously

506
00:32:32,400 --> 00:32:36,200
Speaker 1: so grateful because I know I'm alive today because I

507
00:32:36,240 --> 00:32:41,560
Speaker 1: was adopted, But I would also say that experience is

508
00:32:42,440 --> 00:32:46,760
Speaker 1: heartbreaking in a totally different way. You go from the

509
00:32:46,800 --> 00:32:50,560
Speaker 1: only place you've ever known, the other kids that are

510
00:32:50,600 --> 00:32:54,960
Speaker 1: your family, this environment, like I said, all you've ever

511
00:32:55,040 --> 00:32:59,720
Speaker 1: known to coming here to America, experiencing everything for the

512
00:32:59,720 --> 00:33:02,800
Speaker 1: first time new and not only for the first time

513
00:33:02,800 --> 00:33:07,200
Speaker 1: you're having these experiences, but also you don't have a

514
00:33:07,240 --> 00:33:11,320
Speaker 1: reference point for anything because you've never been educated, you've

515
00:33:11,360 --> 00:33:16,479
Speaker 1: never watched a movie, you've never listened to anything that

516
00:33:16,520 --> 00:33:20,080
Speaker 1: would tell you, you know what I mean. Like now it's like,

517
00:33:20,200 --> 00:33:23,200
Speaker 1: you know we have today, you know, we can know

518
00:33:23,280 --> 00:33:25,280
Speaker 1: how other people in other parts of the world live

519
00:33:25,400 --> 00:33:28,640
Speaker 1: because with the form of media that we have access

520
00:33:28,680 --> 00:33:31,840
Speaker 1: to and information, but we didn't have access to any

521
00:33:31,880 --> 00:33:34,600
Speaker 1: of that. And so the idea of coming to America

522
00:33:34,680 --> 00:33:37,920
Speaker 1: and having parents living with the family, I didn't even

523
00:33:37,960 --> 00:33:41,680
Speaker 1: know what that was. And so and I'd never been

524
00:33:41,720 --> 00:33:45,480
Speaker 1: on a plane or a train, and you're just you know,

525
00:33:46,320 --> 00:33:49,200
Speaker 1: going to school before all these new things, and so

526
00:33:51,080 --> 00:33:56,680
Speaker 1: that obviously was just kind of the first year. You

527
00:33:56,760 --> 00:34:02,200
Speaker 1: have this deep, almost like you're sick feeling in the

528
00:34:02,200 --> 00:34:06,400
Speaker 1: pit of your stomach of just navigating all this newness.

529
00:34:06,840 --> 00:34:09,239
Speaker 1: But I come to a town of sixteen hundred people

530
00:34:09,239 --> 00:34:14,560
Speaker 1: in northern Michigan, predominantly Caucasian. I could count on one

531
00:34:14,600 --> 00:34:17,920
Speaker 1: hand the number of minorities that lived in this town,

532
00:34:18,719 --> 00:34:22,200
Speaker 1: and two of them were in my family, my other ties.

533
00:34:23,200 --> 00:34:27,399
Speaker 1: So obviously that had its own challenges, right, and then

534
00:34:27,520 --> 00:34:30,360
Speaker 1: I don't speak of wording in English, And oh, I

535
00:34:30,440 --> 00:34:34,560
Speaker 1: also have a disability, something that's not seen in our

536
00:34:34,719 --> 00:34:35,480
Speaker 1: entire county.

537
00:34:35,840 --> 00:34:39,880
Speaker 4: Your adopted parents had also adopted twice before.

538
00:34:40,719 --> 00:34:44,040
Speaker 1: My sister that came first was adopted ten months before,

539
00:34:44,640 --> 00:34:47,319
Speaker 1: and then my brother and I came together. But none

540
00:34:47,360 --> 00:34:51,839
Speaker 1: of us are biologically related, got it, So, but they

541
00:34:51,920 --> 00:34:56,080
Speaker 1: never together, They never had children except for the ones

542
00:34:56,120 --> 00:35:01,440
Speaker 1: I adopted from China. And yeah, there's a lot of

543
00:35:01,480 --> 00:35:07,880
Speaker 1: difficulties in that. And the adoption and adoptee experience is

544
00:35:07,920 --> 00:35:15,920
Speaker 1: also another identity crisis sort of you go through, right,

545
00:35:16,000 --> 00:35:19,160
Speaker 1: And I think so many people don't hear a lot

546
00:35:19,160 --> 00:35:23,640
Speaker 1: about this because we often associate adoption as like this

547
00:35:23,960 --> 00:35:28,320
Speaker 1: form of like a savior complex, right, like somebody's being rescued.

548
00:35:28,760 --> 00:35:35,319
Speaker 1: But what often happens in these foreign adoption scenarios so

549
00:35:35,440 --> 00:35:38,799
Speaker 1: my parents are white, I'm obviously not. I grew up

550
00:35:38,840 --> 00:35:42,760
Speaker 1: in a white family. But it also strips you of

551
00:35:42,840 --> 00:35:48,200
Speaker 1: where you come from, and you know you're sort of

552
00:35:48,960 --> 00:35:54,600
Speaker 1: being put in a situation where another culture's norms and

553
00:35:55,400 --> 00:36:00,120
Speaker 1: values and traditions and culture is being put on you.

554
00:35:59,719 --> 00:36:03,320
Speaker 1: And you go through this like WHOA what am I? Am? I? Chinese?

555
00:36:03,360 --> 00:36:05,239
Speaker 1: Am I white? And my half am I?

556
00:36:06,000 --> 00:36:09,279
Speaker 5: And it gets very confusing, especially when you grow up

557
00:36:09,320 --> 00:36:12,880
Speaker 5: in a community where there's not a lot of people

558
00:36:12,960 --> 00:36:16,600
Speaker 5: like you to connect with, to hold on to that

559
00:36:16,719 --> 00:36:20,640
Speaker 5: part of your identity, your culture, your language, and those

560
00:36:20,640 --> 00:36:28,040
Speaker 5: are difficult things for foreign born, foreign adoptees, immigrants. It's

561
00:36:28,200 --> 00:36:32,359
Speaker 5: very common the immigrant experience, but it's a hard one

562
00:36:32,400 --> 00:36:33,160
Speaker 5: to navigate.

563
00:36:34,520 --> 00:36:38,320
Speaker 4: Yeah, and I know that you ultimately ended up going

564
00:36:38,560 --> 00:36:42,480
Speaker 4: to UCLA. Would you say that that was really your

565
00:36:42,680 --> 00:36:48,359
Speaker 4: introduction into more diverse group of humans.

566
00:36:48,800 --> 00:36:54,000
Speaker 1: Yes, and something really wonderful happened at UCLA, but also

567
00:36:54,239 --> 00:36:58,600
Speaker 1: was a bit confusing for me. So UCLA, I believe

568
00:36:58,719 --> 00:37:02,040
Speaker 1: when I left it was like four twenty four percent Asian, Right,

569
00:37:02,600 --> 00:37:06,600
Speaker 1: we call it the University of Caucasians lost among Asians,

570
00:37:06,640 --> 00:37:11,120
Speaker 1: Like that's the real acronem of Bucla. It's the largest

571
00:37:11,560 --> 00:37:16,439
Speaker 1: ethnic group at UCLA, more than the number of white

572
00:37:16,480 --> 00:37:22,280
Speaker 1: people that go there. And so my roommate is full Chinese.

573
00:37:22,360 --> 00:37:27,120
Speaker 1: Her parents are, you know, first generation immigrants, and I

574
00:37:27,200 --> 00:37:31,359
Speaker 1: remember her just being so horrified in some ways and

575
00:37:31,440 --> 00:37:35,479
Speaker 1: shock that I wasn't more Chinese, that I didn't act

576
00:37:35,560 --> 00:37:39,000
Speaker 1: more Chinese, that I didn't speak the fluent Mandarin, that

577
00:37:39,080 --> 00:37:41,719
Speaker 1: I didn't have a rice cooker in our room, that

578
00:37:41,760 --> 00:37:46,120
Speaker 1: I didn't have all these you know, traditions or customs

579
00:37:46,120 --> 00:37:49,960
Speaker 1: that come with being Chinese, and her just being like,

580
00:37:50,760 --> 00:37:55,480
Speaker 1: helps this possible, Like you're not living up to your identity,

581
00:37:55,560 --> 00:37:58,840
Speaker 1: you know. And so it kind of really forced me

582
00:37:58,880 --> 00:38:02,840
Speaker 1: to confront the fact that from my childhood here in America,

583
00:38:03,000 --> 00:38:07,520
Speaker 1: growing up in America, I had largely not necessarily by choice,

584
00:38:07,560 --> 00:38:15,920
Speaker 1: but had to dismiss or ignore my Chinese identity to

585
00:38:15,960 --> 00:38:22,279
Speaker 1: fit in, to assimilate, to adjust, uh, to to be accepted. Right.

586
00:38:24,360 --> 00:38:28,120
Speaker 1: But it was also really wonderful because it's also sort

587
00:38:28,160 --> 00:38:31,640
Speaker 1: of the chapter of my life that really helped me

588
00:38:31,680 --> 00:38:36,040
Speaker 1: to open my eyes and to learn to start embracing

589
00:38:36,760 --> 00:38:40,400
Speaker 1: that part of who I am, that to be proudly Asian,

590
00:38:40,520 --> 00:38:45,440
Speaker 1: to uh embrace you know what I look like in

591
00:38:45,520 --> 00:38:49,480
Speaker 1: my features that make me Chinese and just to not

592
00:38:49,719 --> 00:38:53,200
Speaker 1: dismiss it. And so that was something that was wonderful

593
00:38:53,239 --> 00:38:58,200
Speaker 1: that came out of UCLA.

594
00:38:59,680 --> 00:39:02,359
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595
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Speaker 4: Talk to me about coming into your own as an

651
00:42:10,800 --> 00:42:14,319
Speaker 4: athlete as well during your time in college. I know

652
00:42:14,360 --> 00:42:18,160
Speaker 4: that you got your first running prosthetic at fourteen, so

653
00:42:18,200 --> 00:42:21,560
Speaker 4: I'm sure quite the journey from getting your first running

654
00:42:21,560 --> 00:42:25,200
Speaker 4: prosthetic to running competitively in college.

655
00:42:27,000 --> 00:42:32,160
Speaker 1: So I actually didn't know or hear or get recruited

656
00:42:32,200 --> 00:42:37,520
Speaker 1: into Paralympics until my sophomore year at UCLA, so fairly

657
00:42:37,680 --> 00:42:44,160
Speaker 1: late in the game. But the high performance director for

658
00:42:44,360 --> 00:42:49,359
Speaker 1: US Paralympic Track and Field had. I guess she had

659
00:42:49,760 --> 00:42:54,120
Speaker 1: read some articles that I was a triathlete and was

660
00:42:54,160 --> 00:42:57,480
Speaker 1: a runner. And one thing about Paralympics that people don't

661
00:42:57,520 --> 00:43:00,840
Speaker 1: know is there's still quite a gap between male and

662
00:43:00,920 --> 00:43:06,719
Speaker 1: female participation at the Games. So the numbers, unlike the Olympics,

663
00:43:06,960 --> 00:43:10,359
Speaker 1: it's pretty much fifty to fifty in the Paralympics. It's

664
00:43:10,400 --> 00:43:13,920
Speaker 1: not like that. It's a little bit better now, but

665
00:43:14,560 --> 00:43:19,800
Speaker 1: the Paralympics hasn't even reached forty percent female athletes. Wow,

666
00:43:19,880 --> 00:43:24,680
Speaker 1: so you can imagine even two games ago, we're barely

667
00:43:24,719 --> 00:43:28,359
Speaker 1: clearing thirty percent. And you know, so my point being

668
00:43:28,480 --> 00:43:30,759
Speaker 1: is that they were sort of on this mission and

669
00:43:30,880 --> 00:43:35,040
Speaker 1: still with much of what I'm doing now, on this

670
00:43:35,120 --> 00:43:39,200
Speaker 1: mission to get more women athletes competing in the Paralympics.

671
00:43:39,800 --> 00:43:43,480
Speaker 1: And so she saw that I could obviously run because

672
00:43:43,480 --> 00:43:46,080
Speaker 1: I did triathlon, and well, I wonder if we can

673
00:43:46,120 --> 00:43:49,160
Speaker 1: get her over to crossover to track, and at the time,

674
00:43:49,239 --> 00:43:52,719
Speaker 1: triathlon was not part of the Paralympic program, and so

675
00:43:53,239 --> 00:43:55,880
Speaker 1: she had contacted me, and I was like, I'm not

676
00:43:55,920 --> 00:43:58,239
Speaker 1: really that interested. I'm having a lot of success during

677
00:43:58,320 --> 00:44:02,080
Speaker 1: triathlon and I really like this in running, and when

678
00:44:02,160 --> 00:44:06,320
Speaker 1: I went to high school there wasn't track or cross country.

679
00:44:06,360 --> 00:44:09,560
Speaker 1: We didn't have a program, we didn't have a facility neither.

680
00:44:10,040 --> 00:44:13,160
Speaker 1: So I didn't really know anything about track really to

681
00:44:13,160 --> 00:44:16,520
Speaker 1: begin with. But she just kept being persistent. Finally I

682
00:44:16,560 --> 00:44:18,840
Speaker 1: was like, Okay, I'll come to a camp. So the

683
00:44:18,840 --> 00:44:21,280
Speaker 1: camp was at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista

684
00:44:22,120 --> 00:44:25,799
Speaker 1: and one week there and I was like, I think

685
00:44:25,840 --> 00:44:28,399
Speaker 1: I want to do this. This is amazing. And I think,

686
00:44:28,920 --> 00:44:34,640
Speaker 1: being somebody I'm very competitive in terms of sports, and

687
00:44:35,320 --> 00:44:40,480
Speaker 1: having largely been denied the opportunity to be competitive growing

688
00:44:40,560 --> 00:44:44,560
Speaker 1: up in high school sports or grade school sports, the

689
00:44:44,600 --> 00:44:47,920
Speaker 1: idea of competing at the Paralympics, the biggest stage in

690
00:44:47,960 --> 00:44:53,480
Speaker 1: the world, was just obviously very alluring to me. And

691
00:44:53,600 --> 00:44:57,760
Speaker 1: so that's how I got involved in Paralympic track and field.

692
00:44:57,840 --> 00:45:01,640
Speaker 1: And obviously I didn't make the team in twenty twelve,

693
00:45:02,000 --> 00:45:06,120
Speaker 1: but decided I would continue. And here we.

694
00:45:06,040 --> 00:45:07,840
Speaker 2: Are, here we are.

695
00:45:08,360 --> 00:45:12,080
Speaker 4: You know, It's it's very impressive to me and very

696
00:45:12,120 --> 00:45:15,120
Speaker 4: appropriate that we started this off talking about where it's

697
00:45:15,200 --> 00:45:20,040
Speaker 4: like resilience, because you just touched on the struggles that

698
00:45:20,080 --> 00:45:23,799
Speaker 4: you faced coming into sport in high school and for

699
00:45:23,840 --> 00:45:30,480
Speaker 4: so many that would dissuade them from continuing on to

700
00:45:31,040 --> 00:45:34,320
Speaker 4: kind of investigate that a little bit more and pursue

701
00:45:34,320 --> 00:45:39,240
Speaker 4: that passion. For you, do you believe that that type

702
00:45:39,280 --> 00:45:42,560
Speaker 4: of behavior, that type of resilience, that type of determination

703
00:45:43,239 --> 00:45:48,640
Speaker 4: was modeled at home maybe, or where did that grit

704
00:45:48,680 --> 00:45:49,320
Speaker 4: come from?

705
00:45:49,800 --> 00:45:50,239
Speaker 2: For you?

706
00:45:50,920 --> 00:45:54,319
Speaker 1: Living through that orphanage experience is really what you know,

707
00:45:54,440 --> 00:46:01,759
Speaker 1: instill that never quit, always keep fighting attitude. And you know,

708
00:46:01,800 --> 00:46:04,440
Speaker 1: it's funny. I started doing sports when I was in

709
00:46:04,480 --> 00:46:07,680
Speaker 1: second grade and it started with youth soccer. I'm so

710
00:46:07,760 --> 00:46:12,440
Speaker 1: excited because one thing that's really wonderful about sport is

711
00:46:12,800 --> 00:46:17,799
Speaker 1: it was really the only thing when me coming here

712
00:46:17,800 --> 00:46:22,040
Speaker 1: to America that made me feel like, Okay, this is

713
00:46:22,080 --> 00:46:26,920
Speaker 1: how I'm going to be able to understand, to assimilate,

714
00:46:27,520 --> 00:46:32,280
Speaker 1: to get adjusted is through sport because sports are really

715
00:46:32,840 --> 00:46:36,480
Speaker 1: without borders. You don't have to speak the same language,

716
00:46:36,640 --> 00:46:39,440
Speaker 1: you don't have to look alike. Like. That's the beauty

717
00:46:39,440 --> 00:46:43,799
Speaker 1: of sport, right And for me, those were, you know,

718
00:46:43,840 --> 00:46:47,680
Speaker 1: the social cultural language barriers I was struggling with. Sport

719
00:46:47,840 --> 00:46:51,400
Speaker 1: was a great way for me to sort of integrate

720
00:46:51,480 --> 00:46:57,120
Speaker 1: myself here. But I found out something that wasn't expected.

721
00:46:57,920 --> 00:47:00,560
Speaker 1: And maybe it was just the naive aspect of me,

722
00:47:01,200 --> 00:47:04,879
Speaker 1: but I could always show up, came to every game ever,

723
00:47:04,960 --> 00:47:10,120
Speaker 1: practiced every tournament, but I wasn't always welcome to actually compete.

724
00:47:11,160 --> 00:47:15,640
Speaker 1: And I remember just being kind of shocked, but then

725
00:47:15,880 --> 00:47:18,280
Speaker 1: sort of looking back and being like why was I shocked?

726
00:47:18,360 --> 00:47:22,560
Speaker 1: You know? And so I every season of every year

727
00:47:22,600 --> 00:47:26,200
Speaker 1: I signed up for a sport from second grade through

728
00:47:26,239 --> 00:47:30,440
Speaker 1: high school, and I tried every and all and obviously

729
00:47:30,480 --> 00:47:33,640
Speaker 1: didn't have a lot of success, given at that time,

730
00:47:34,120 --> 00:47:36,680
Speaker 1: I didn't have a sports prosthetics. I did sports on

731
00:47:36,719 --> 00:47:39,840
Speaker 1: my every day walking like not made to do sports,

732
00:47:40,239 --> 00:47:42,880
Speaker 1: but I worked hard. I showed up every day. And

733
00:47:42,920 --> 00:47:46,319
Speaker 1: I remember in eighth grade I wrote my softball coach this.

734
00:47:47,000 --> 00:47:49,520
Speaker 1: Remember I don't even know if you remember this, but

735
00:47:50,160 --> 00:47:53,240
Speaker 1: this might show how old I am. They have these

736
00:47:53,600 --> 00:47:55,960
Speaker 1: papers that you put in your three ring binder, and

737
00:47:56,000 --> 00:47:59,360
Speaker 1: it had like lines on it, yeah, kind of like

738
00:47:59,480 --> 00:48:02,279
Speaker 1: trans right, you could sort of see through this, And

739
00:48:02,400 --> 00:48:07,080
Speaker 1: I filled out one of those eight by eleven one

740
00:48:07,239 --> 00:48:11,600
Speaker 1: line papers and wrote her a letter to say I

741
00:48:11,680 --> 00:48:13,880
Speaker 1: was quitting the team and why I was quitting and

742
00:48:13,920 --> 00:48:17,920
Speaker 1: how I didn't appreciate the way that she was trading me,

743
00:48:18,040 --> 00:48:22,359
Speaker 1: and how the other girls didn't include me, and just

744
00:48:22,680 --> 00:48:26,360
Speaker 1: like they were so resistant to everybody else got to

745
00:48:26,360 --> 00:48:30,200
Speaker 1: play except me. And I'm working hard and showing up

746
00:48:30,200 --> 00:48:32,960
Speaker 1: every day, and like the thing is, I wasn't somebody

747
00:48:33,000 --> 00:48:35,720
Speaker 1: who was like real raw raw or like real loud,

748
00:48:36,040 --> 00:48:40,160
Speaker 1: and I wasn't in anybody's face. But this letter was like,

749
00:48:40,239 --> 00:48:42,520
Speaker 1: all right, I'm going to show her, you know, because

750
00:48:42,560 --> 00:48:44,000
Speaker 1: I would. I would show up every day, but I

751
00:48:44,040 --> 00:48:46,240
Speaker 1: wouldn't complain about the fact that I didn't get playing

752
00:48:46,320 --> 00:48:50,160
Speaker 1: time or that people were like, oh, stay away from her.

753
00:48:50,360 --> 00:48:53,000
Speaker 1: You know, I didn't. I didn't display any of my

754
00:48:53,080 --> 00:48:55,560
Speaker 1: frustrations with that. So this letter I put it all out.

755
00:48:55,600 --> 00:48:58,080
Speaker 4: Then would you say the letter was out of character

756
00:48:58,160 --> 00:48:59,040
Speaker 4: for you, coach?

757
00:48:59,200 --> 00:49:04,879
Speaker 1: Completely? Like I remember reading it back and being like, boy,

758
00:49:05,000 --> 00:49:09,600
Speaker 1: is this person. You're so ridiculous? Right, And so I

759
00:49:09,640 --> 00:49:12,200
Speaker 1: put it in an envelope and sealed it, and I'm like,

760
00:49:12,239 --> 00:49:15,160
Speaker 1: I'm more to practice and giving it to her tomorrow. Well,

761
00:49:15,160 --> 00:49:19,840
Speaker 1: of course I wake up the next morning and I'm like, oh, heil, no,

762
00:49:20,120 --> 00:49:23,200
Speaker 1: I'm not giving her this letter. Because if I give

763
00:49:23,239 --> 00:49:26,759
Speaker 1: her this letter and tell her I'm coining, then she's

764
00:49:26,800 --> 00:49:32,600
Speaker 1: going to get what she wanted me not in their face,

765
00:49:32,920 --> 00:49:36,040
Speaker 1: me not there. Clearly that was the message she was

766
00:49:36,080 --> 00:49:38,640
Speaker 1: sending me is you sit on the bench and everybody

767
00:49:38,719 --> 00:49:41,680
Speaker 1: else will play but you. And I'm like, why am

768
00:49:41,680 --> 00:49:46,480
Speaker 1: I going to give her that satisfaction? That's ridiculous, it's silly,

769
00:49:47,120 --> 00:49:49,480
Speaker 1: And no, I'm going to show up every day, even

770
00:49:49,520 --> 00:49:51,759
Speaker 1: though I know what the end result is going to be.

771
00:49:52,280 --> 00:49:56,600
Speaker 1: And I think there's a really powerful lesson in that.

772
00:49:56,960 --> 00:49:58,920
Speaker 1: I didn't know it at the time, but it served

773
00:49:58,960 --> 00:50:01,640
Speaker 1: me while in my life, and it's the idea that

774
00:50:02,080 --> 00:50:05,080
Speaker 1: in any environment, whether you're in sport, whether you're in

775
00:50:05,120 --> 00:50:09,160
Speaker 1: a work setting, family, whatever, it might be the idea

776
00:50:09,400 --> 00:50:12,759
Speaker 1: of how important it is to just show up and

777
00:50:12,840 --> 00:50:16,120
Speaker 1: to be there, even when you don't want to be,

778
00:50:16,480 --> 00:50:19,360
Speaker 1: even when you know you're not wanted, even when you

779
00:50:19,480 --> 00:50:24,480
Speaker 1: know you are the other. And there's something really important

780
00:50:24,480 --> 00:50:27,920
Speaker 1: in that because of the not only the resilience and

781
00:50:27,960 --> 00:50:32,520
Speaker 1: the strength that it builds, but also helping them to

782
00:50:32,719 --> 00:50:37,719
Speaker 1: understand that the only way we get inclusion, the only

783
00:50:37,760 --> 00:50:41,520
Speaker 1: way we get acceptance, the only way we diversify the

784
00:50:41,640 --> 00:50:45,560
Speaker 1: environments we're in, is sometimes just to simply be there

785
00:50:45,800 --> 00:50:52,520
Speaker 1: to exist, to have other people be comfortable with whatever

786
00:50:52,600 --> 00:50:56,120
Speaker 1: discomfort they might feel in our presence. And there's something

787
00:50:56,120 --> 00:50:59,000
Speaker 1: to be said about that. And so I didn't know

788
00:50:59,000 --> 00:51:01,920
Speaker 1: it at eighth grade. It taught me something really valuable.

789
00:51:02,440 --> 00:51:05,600
Speaker 1: And it was hard, though, the idea to show up

790
00:51:05,840 --> 00:51:07,480
Speaker 1: and to know you're not going to get to play.

791
00:51:07,920 --> 00:51:12,080
Speaker 1: But I think that what really pushed me is I

792
00:51:12,200 --> 00:51:14,560
Speaker 1: just loved being out there. I love being part of

793
00:51:14,600 --> 00:51:20,600
Speaker 1: something competitive. I loved training, I loved working hard. I

794
00:51:20,640 --> 00:51:23,080
Speaker 1: loved just showing up and knowing I'm going to do

795
00:51:23,120 --> 00:51:27,040
Speaker 1: something today that I maybe couldn't do yesterday. And that

796
00:51:27,160 --> 00:51:28,640
Speaker 1: for me was really rewarding.

797
00:51:29,640 --> 00:51:34,720
Speaker 4: Yeah, and that grit in determination, it wasn't just back

798
00:51:34,840 --> 00:51:39,360
Speaker 4: in high school. Obviously, it carries with you through college

799
00:51:39,560 --> 00:51:43,440
Speaker 4: and then come twenty fifteen, when you first start training

800
00:51:43,520 --> 00:51:47,319
Speaker 4: as professional, A lot of that grit in determination and

801
00:51:47,360 --> 00:51:52,400
Speaker 4: resilience comes into play with the circumstances that surround doing

802
00:51:52,480 --> 00:51:55,280
Speaker 4: that full time. Talk to me a little bit about

803
00:51:55,360 --> 00:51:57,640
Speaker 4: what life was like back in twenty fifteen.

804
00:51:58,360 --> 00:52:03,320
Speaker 1: Well, I know you've had many incredible professional olympians and

805
00:52:03,760 --> 00:52:07,200
Speaker 1: athletes on your show, and typically how it works is

806
00:52:08,000 --> 00:52:11,200
Speaker 1: you go pro when you have a major sponsor or

807
00:52:11,280 --> 00:52:15,160
Speaker 1: a sponsor, not even a major sponsor a sponsor. Right,

808
00:52:15,400 --> 00:52:19,000
Speaker 1: I decided I was going to go pro, go all in,

809
00:52:19,360 --> 00:52:22,320
Speaker 1: and I didn't have a single commercial sponsor.

810
00:52:23,040 --> 00:52:28,399
Speaker 3: The Scout basket way I would not recommend, uh, this

811
00:52:28,480 --> 00:52:29,720
Speaker 3: is the way to do it.

812
00:52:29,719 --> 00:52:32,600
Speaker 1: It wasn't like, and I'm not even talking in apparel

813
00:52:32,640 --> 00:52:35,840
Speaker 1: brand like. It wasn't There wasn't even like a drink sponsor,

814
00:52:36,000 --> 00:52:38,799
Speaker 1: right that was like, hey, we'll give you. There wasn't

815
00:52:38,800 --> 00:52:42,400
Speaker 1: even like a merchandise or a product sponsor. It was

816
00:52:42,480 --> 00:52:45,200
Speaker 1: just you know, what had happened is I left UCLA

817
00:52:45,480 --> 00:52:50,040
Speaker 1: all right, and after college I got a really great

818
00:52:50,120 --> 00:52:53,520
Speaker 1: job offer to work in digital media for a medical

819
00:52:53,560 --> 00:52:59,440
Speaker 1: device company in Orange County, California. And towards you know,

820
00:52:59,520 --> 00:53:04,480
Speaker 1: midway through year three, I realize, Okay, I've been training

821
00:53:04,560 --> 00:53:08,280
Speaker 1: still in the morning after work, and it's just starting

822
00:53:08,320 --> 00:53:11,800
Speaker 1: to get to be very difficult because now I'm working

823
00:53:11,840 --> 00:53:14,960
Speaker 1: more hours, I'm traveling more for work, and it's just

824
00:53:15,000 --> 00:53:19,240
Speaker 1: getting to be a little bit unmanageable. And this dream

825
00:53:19,239 --> 00:53:22,200
Speaker 1: of competing at the Olympics, at the Paralympics had eluded me,

826
00:53:23,000 --> 00:53:25,600
Speaker 1: and I thought, there's only one way I'm going to

827
00:53:25,640 --> 00:53:27,920
Speaker 1: make this happen, and it's if I go all in.

828
00:53:28,600 --> 00:53:33,399
Speaker 1: Because at this level, the Paralympics is not participatory. It's

829
00:53:33,480 --> 00:53:36,200
Speaker 1: not anybody that's training and wants to compete can compete.

830
00:53:36,280 --> 00:53:39,120
Speaker 1: It's you have to earn your spot to go. And

831
00:53:39,440 --> 00:53:41,360
Speaker 1: I knew that the only way to do that was

832
00:53:41,400 --> 00:53:43,840
Speaker 1: to go all in. And I got a coach at

833
00:53:43,840 --> 00:53:46,719
Speaker 1: the Olympic Training Center that I had been in contact with,

834
00:53:46,840 --> 00:53:49,000
Speaker 1: said I'll train you, but you got to find a

835
00:53:49,000 --> 00:53:53,080
Speaker 1: way to live down here and get to practice every day.

836
00:53:53,680 --> 00:53:57,640
Speaker 1: And so I naively decided, oh, I'm just gonna And

837
00:53:57,680 --> 00:54:04,640
Speaker 1: at this time, I'm twenty five, twenty six, maybe twenty five,

838
00:54:04,719 --> 00:54:08,840
Speaker 1: and I decide, Okay, I'm gonna just quit my job.

839
00:54:09,320 --> 00:54:13,279
Speaker 1: And I knew, like this was really great first job

840
00:54:13,360 --> 00:54:18,239
Speaker 1: out of college, and like I had, you know, uh,

841
00:54:18,480 --> 00:54:21,319
Speaker 1: really great benefits. It was really good pay, I had

842
00:54:21,320 --> 00:54:24,160
Speaker 1: a company card. Like I'm leaving all of that to

843
00:54:24,200 --> 00:54:26,640
Speaker 1: be like, I'm gonna go poor and broke. I have

844
00:54:26,719 --> 00:54:31,479
Speaker 1: no money and uh to no sponsors, and I'm gonna

845
00:54:31,520 --> 00:54:33,040
Speaker 1: just do this full time. So I moved to San

846
00:54:33,080 --> 00:54:36,680
Speaker 1: Diego and I lived off of my friends' couches and

847
00:54:36,760 --> 00:54:41,759
Speaker 1: spare rooms for six months and decided like I'm just

848
00:54:41,800 --> 00:54:46,800
Speaker 1: going all in, and obviously, you know, we know what happened,

849
00:54:46,800 --> 00:54:49,600
Speaker 1: but the results were tremendous. Being able to be all

850
00:54:49,640 --> 00:54:52,920
Speaker 1: in full time made my way from like twenty somethings

851
00:54:53,040 --> 00:54:56,680
Speaker 1: in the world to top five in six months in

852
00:54:56,719 --> 00:54:59,120
Speaker 1: the world rankings. Then of course I got my first

853
00:55:00,480 --> 00:55:05,320
Speaker 1: that you know was interested. But that time was absolutely terrifying.

854
00:55:06,000 --> 00:55:08,800
Speaker 1: I mean, whenever I think of making a change now

855
00:55:08,960 --> 00:55:12,359
Speaker 1: or how scared I am to do something bold or

856
00:55:12,400 --> 00:55:14,920
Speaker 1: big or brave, I think back on that time, like

857
00:55:15,000 --> 00:55:18,560
Speaker 1: if you could leave a job and go and pursue

858
00:55:18,560 --> 00:55:25,400
Speaker 1: your dream and have absolutely no sponsors, very little savings,

859
00:55:25,440 --> 00:55:28,359
Speaker 1: like and do it and go all in, like you

860
00:55:28,400 --> 00:55:30,560
Speaker 1: can do hard things. You know, you can do other

861
00:55:30,640 --> 00:55:33,640
Speaker 1: hard things. And it turned out great. But I remember

862
00:55:33,760 --> 00:55:36,600
Speaker 1: there would be nice I would literally tears would just

863
00:55:36,640 --> 00:55:39,719
Speaker 1: stream down on my pillow, being like I don't know

864
00:55:39,719 --> 00:55:41,840
Speaker 1: if I'm gonna have gas money to get to practice

865
00:55:41,880 --> 00:55:44,919
Speaker 1: this week, or like how many cup noodles can I buy?

866
00:55:45,000 --> 00:55:47,839
Speaker 1: You know, and just like things like that. You know,

867
00:55:48,040 --> 00:55:49,320
Speaker 1: It's just it was wild.

868
00:55:51,000 --> 00:55:53,799
Speaker 2: Do you remember where you were?

869
00:55:54,200 --> 00:55:57,040
Speaker 4: And also like how it happened, because obviously things have

870
00:55:57,160 --> 00:55:59,520
Speaker 4: kind of evolved over time. But where you were when

871
00:55:59,560 --> 00:56:02,280
Speaker 4: you got that first sponsorship offer?

872
00:56:02,440 --> 00:56:04,160
Speaker 2: Was it a call? Was it an email?

873
00:56:04,600 --> 00:56:08,600
Speaker 1: Yeah, it was a call. And I remember being in

874
00:56:08,640 --> 00:56:12,680
Speaker 1: the bathroom getting ready to go to practice, and I

875
00:56:12,719 --> 00:56:17,759
Speaker 1: got this call from a Portland number, and I'm like,

876
00:56:18,120 --> 00:56:21,919
Speaker 1: I don't know anybody in Portland, but it didn't look

877
00:56:22,000 --> 00:56:25,879
Speaker 1: like a spam like call. So I just I don't

878
00:56:25,920 --> 00:56:27,879
Speaker 1: even know why I picked up, because now I never

879
00:56:27,920 --> 00:56:30,279
Speaker 1: pick up a number that I don't like, I don't

880
00:56:30,320 --> 00:56:32,759
Speaker 1: have saved, but it was like a Portland number, and

881
00:56:32,800 --> 00:56:35,920
Speaker 1: I'm like, I've never gotten a call from a Portland

882
00:56:35,960 --> 00:56:40,279
Speaker 1: area code, right, And so I picked up. And her

883
00:56:40,360 --> 00:56:43,080
Speaker 1: name is Laurie Roth, and she's probably not gonna appreciate

884
00:56:43,120 --> 00:56:46,520
Speaker 1: me putting her name out there, but she called me

885
00:56:46,560 --> 00:56:50,440
Speaker 1: to tell me that she was interested in in Nike.

886
00:56:50,800 --> 00:56:53,760
Speaker 1: She works for Nike and Sports Marketing and was interested

887
00:56:53,800 --> 00:56:57,680
Speaker 1: in sponsor you know, we were interested in sponsoring you.

888
00:56:58,680 --> 00:57:02,520
Speaker 1: And I remember being like, oh, this this is not real.

889
00:57:02,600 --> 00:57:06,640
Speaker 1: Click like I thought it was like a like a

890
00:57:06,680 --> 00:57:10,680
Speaker 1: spam call or like a fake call, because I was like,

891
00:57:10,760 --> 00:57:12,480
Speaker 1: this is not real, Like.

892
00:57:14,000 --> 00:57:14,640
Speaker 2: You hung up?

893
00:57:15,120 --> 00:57:17,840
Speaker 1: Yeah, I was like, oh. I was like, oh things,

894
00:57:17,840 --> 00:57:20,400
Speaker 1: but I'm not interested, like thinking it was like some

895
00:57:20,480 --> 00:57:23,480
Speaker 1: sort of like somebody's trying to get me into like

896
00:57:23,840 --> 00:57:30,240
Speaker 1: you know, baye me into something. And so and then

897
00:57:30,360 --> 00:57:35,520
Speaker 1: the number calls back again. Wait, spam numbers don't almost

898
00:57:35,560 --> 00:57:37,360
Speaker 1: never do that, right If you hang up, they don't

899
00:57:37,360 --> 00:57:40,640
Speaker 1: call you back. And so I picked up and she's like,

900
00:57:41,160 --> 00:57:43,520
Speaker 1: I'm for real, I'm a real person. She's like, I'm

901
00:57:43,560 --> 00:57:45,880
Speaker 1: going to send you my email, like I can send

902
00:57:45,920 --> 00:57:48,880
Speaker 1: you my company like you know, my company email to

903
00:57:48,920 --> 00:57:50,480
Speaker 1: let you know I actually worked with the company. And

904
00:57:50,480 --> 00:57:52,760
Speaker 1: I was like, oh, like I never heard of her,

905
00:57:52,880 --> 00:57:56,720
Speaker 1: you know. And so you know, she's like I'm serious,

906
00:57:56,760 --> 00:57:59,720
Speaker 1: like this is not a praying, this is not a

907
00:57:59,760 --> 00:58:05,280
Speaker 1: space you know whatnot. And so anyways, it just, uh,

908
00:58:05,320 --> 00:58:08,720
Speaker 1: that's where I was, and it was incredible, you know.

909
00:58:09,080 --> 00:58:13,520
Speaker 1: I think what's funny is a lot of people start

910
00:58:13,560 --> 00:58:17,560
Speaker 1: out doing this, like nowadays, all these young kids, well,

911
00:58:17,560 --> 00:58:19,600
Speaker 1: how do I get a sponsor? How do I get this?

912
00:58:19,640 --> 00:58:23,360
Speaker 1: How do I get what you have? And I always

913
00:58:23,560 --> 00:58:28,240
Speaker 1: cringe in some ways when I hear that, because when

914
00:58:28,280 --> 00:58:31,400
Speaker 1: I started out doing this, I'm like it wasn't for

915
00:58:31,480 --> 00:58:37,840
Speaker 1: any of them. It wasn't. I never started doing Paralympics

916
00:58:37,960 --> 00:58:40,600
Speaker 1: or quit my job to do this full time, thinking, oh,

917
00:58:41,040 --> 00:58:43,920
Speaker 1: I can get sponsors out of this, Oh, I'm going

918
00:58:44,000 --> 00:58:46,360
Speaker 1: to make a good living doing this. Like I went

919
00:58:46,400 --> 00:58:48,840
Speaker 1: into this mindset of like I'm going to struggle, I'm

920
00:58:48,880 --> 00:58:52,520
Speaker 1: going to suffer, like I'm gonna be broke doing this,

921
00:58:52,680 --> 00:58:57,040
Speaker 1: and I'm okay with that to chase this dream. It

922
00:58:57,080 --> 00:58:59,000
Speaker 1: wasn't I'm going to chase this dream so that I

923
00:58:59,000 --> 00:59:01,640
Speaker 1: can get a nice live and live comfortably and have

924
00:59:01,720 --> 00:59:05,280
Speaker 1: all this recognition. Like it wasn't for any of that.

925
00:59:05,960 --> 00:59:11,040
Speaker 1: And so when Nike and City and some of these

926
00:59:11,080 --> 00:59:15,080
Speaker 1: other partners came, it was all cherry on top from me.

927
00:59:15,320 --> 00:59:19,240
Speaker 1: It was all beyond my wildest expectations or dreams. And

928
00:59:19,280 --> 00:59:21,680
Speaker 1: I'm really glad it happened that way because it's made

929
00:59:21,760 --> 00:59:26,160
Speaker 1: me appreciate and also helped to keep me grounded of

930
00:59:26,200 --> 00:59:29,400
Speaker 1: why I do this the longer I've done this, and

931
00:59:29,800 --> 00:59:32,600
Speaker 1: to remind myself that it was never for any of this.

932
00:59:32,680 --> 00:59:36,640
Speaker 1: And obviously it's wonderful because it got me out of

933
00:59:36,680 --> 00:59:40,040
Speaker 1: my car and all my friends. Thankfully my friend's couches

934
00:59:40,080 --> 00:59:44,720
Speaker 1: since beair room, they're more thankful than I am. But

935
00:59:46,280 --> 00:59:49,720
Speaker 1: you know, and obviously it's been wonderful in that sense

936
00:59:49,760 --> 00:59:51,680
Speaker 1: and to be able to have a platform and a

937
00:59:51,760 --> 00:59:55,920
Speaker 1: voice and certain that. But it's funny when you know,

938
00:59:56,080 --> 00:59:58,600
Speaker 1: young athletes today are like, well, how do I get this?

939
00:59:58,680 --> 01:00:00,480
Speaker 1: And how do I get that? And I'm like, just

940
01:00:00,560 --> 01:00:05,800
Speaker 1: focus on getting better, improving the results your process, like

941
01:00:06,080 --> 01:00:08,400
Speaker 1: the journey. Focus on that and if it's meant to be,

942
01:00:09,280 --> 01:00:11,200
Speaker 1: it will happen. Like those things will come.

943
01:00:11,800 --> 01:00:15,000
Speaker 4: Yeah, And I know that you, you know, the hurdles

944
01:00:15,440 --> 01:00:20,920
Speaker 4: keep coming for you. I loved watching you doing a

945
01:00:20,960 --> 01:00:24,439
Speaker 4: lot of the commentating on NBC last year, but I'm

946
01:00:24,560 --> 01:00:28,760
Speaker 4: sure that that experience at the time was probably a

947
01:00:28,760 --> 01:00:32,480
Speaker 4: little bit difficult for you as someone who had participated

948
01:00:32,760 --> 01:00:37,160
Speaker 4: in twenty sixteen. How did you reframe your mindset to

949
01:00:37,240 --> 01:00:40,480
Speaker 4: really grab hold of the reins on that opportunity.

950
01:00:42,040 --> 01:00:48,360
Speaker 1: It was hard. I'm not gonna lie. It wasn't the dream, right.

951
01:00:49,040 --> 01:00:52,120
Speaker 1: My dream is not to be commentating for the Paralympics.

952
01:00:52,160 --> 01:00:56,520
Speaker 1: It's obviously to be competing in the Paralympics. And last

953
01:00:56,680 --> 01:01:01,720
Speaker 1: year it was the perfect storm of everything that could

954
01:01:01,720 --> 01:01:07,320
Speaker 1: have gone wrong That season did go wrong, and just

955
01:01:07,960 --> 01:01:13,720
Speaker 1: you know, injuries and setbacks, personal setbacks and health stuff,

956
01:01:13,800 --> 01:01:17,280
Speaker 1: and it was really rough and it was rocky, and

957
01:01:17,320 --> 01:01:22,400
Speaker 1: I knew going into the trials that we were it

958
01:01:22,480 --> 01:01:23,920
Speaker 1: was going to be a bit of a long shot,

959
01:01:24,200 --> 01:01:29,200
Speaker 1: you know. And obviously, up until August there was still

960
01:01:29,280 --> 01:01:33,439
Speaker 1: this possibility because you know, I was only quite high

961
01:01:33,440 --> 01:01:36,240
Speaker 1: on the alternate list, and they were thinking maybe we'll

962
01:01:36,240 --> 01:01:39,280
Speaker 1: get a few additional slots and you'd be one of

963
01:01:39,280 --> 01:01:41,840
Speaker 1: the first people to go. So I'm still training, and

964
01:01:41,880 --> 01:01:44,280
Speaker 1: then when we got word that they weren't going to

965
01:01:44,320 --> 01:01:48,240
Speaker 1: receive any additional slots, it was like the tears were

966
01:01:48,240 --> 01:01:50,840
Speaker 1: flowing again, you know, and it was really rough. But

967
01:01:50,880 --> 01:01:55,520
Speaker 1: then obviously, when the opportunity came for NBC, I've always

968
01:01:55,520 --> 01:02:00,560
Speaker 1: been interested in doing sports media. I'm a huge sports junkie.

969
01:02:01,080 --> 01:02:05,160
Speaker 1: I mean, when I'm home, sports are always on in

970
01:02:05,160 --> 01:02:07,760
Speaker 1: the background, even if I'm not watching it, It's just

971
01:02:07,880 --> 01:02:11,200
Speaker 1: always on in the background. But I love it. I

972
01:02:11,240 --> 01:02:16,080
Speaker 1: love following sports, and so just and obviously I have

973
01:02:16,160 --> 01:02:21,160
Speaker 1: a really good knowledge and of the Paralympics, and so

974
01:02:22,200 --> 01:02:26,120
Speaker 1: when that opportunity came, I just tried to really see

975
01:02:26,160 --> 01:02:29,880
Speaker 1: it as like all is not lost here, you know,

976
01:02:30,040 --> 01:02:32,440
Speaker 1: something good can come out of this if you just

977
01:02:32,520 --> 01:02:36,240
Speaker 1: embrace it. And even though this may not have been

978
01:02:36,360 --> 01:02:40,360
Speaker 1: the dream, you're gonna be able to shed light on

979
01:02:40,440 --> 01:02:45,760
Speaker 1: other people's stories, talk about the Paralympics, you know, really

980
01:02:45,800 --> 01:02:50,160
Speaker 1: amplify the Paralympics here in this country. And that's a

981
01:02:50,240 --> 01:02:52,919
Speaker 1: dream of mine too. It's just a different kind of dream.

982
01:02:53,400 --> 01:02:55,920
Speaker 1: And so that was really wonderful and I had such

983
01:02:55,920 --> 01:02:59,360
Speaker 1: an incredible experience, but it certainly was hard. I mean

984
01:02:59,440 --> 01:03:05,560
Speaker 1: I remember like specifically calling my race and it being

985
01:03:05,680 --> 01:03:08,120
Speaker 1: like this is a little lowkward, you know, and just

986
01:03:08,840 --> 01:03:12,280
Speaker 1: but I think it just showed me that again, you

987
01:03:12,320 --> 01:03:15,200
Speaker 1: can do hard things and something wonderful can come out

988
01:03:15,240 --> 01:03:18,640
Speaker 1: of it. And it really sort of sort of birthed

989
01:03:18,640 --> 01:03:23,360
Speaker 1: this passion going forward in the future where I loved

990
01:03:23,360 --> 01:03:28,080
Speaker 1: it enough where I could see myself doing joining you know,

991
01:03:28,120 --> 01:03:31,720
Speaker 1: the sports media in the future. So that was really

992
01:03:31,760 --> 01:03:33,880
Speaker 1: wonderful and I think that's something I've tried to remind

993
01:03:33,920 --> 01:03:36,120
Speaker 1: myself of, Like, I mean, you're doing such a great

994
01:03:36,200 --> 01:03:39,680
Speaker 1: job of it that while you're being an athlete, you

995
01:03:39,720 --> 01:03:43,960
Speaker 1: can pursue other and it's important to hone other skills,

996
01:03:43,960 --> 01:03:48,360
Speaker 1: to develop other passions interests, because one day this is

997
01:03:48,400 --> 01:03:51,439
Speaker 1: going to be over, and you're gonna have to find

998
01:03:51,440 --> 01:03:54,640
Speaker 1: something else that gets you going and that you know,

999
01:03:54,760 --> 01:03:57,560
Speaker 1: you're just as excited and passionate about. So that was

1000
01:03:57,600 --> 01:03:58,800
Speaker 1: a great opportunity for them.

1001
01:03:58,920 --> 01:03:59,160
Speaker 2: I know.

1002
01:03:59,400 --> 01:04:03,720
Speaker 4: Also recently you participated in the Nike Athlete Thing Tank

1003
01:04:04,040 --> 01:04:09,200
Speaker 4: and in that experience, surrounded by so many stellar other

1004
01:04:09,600 --> 01:04:14,400
Speaker 4: stellar athletes. Uh, do you have anyone that when you

1005
01:04:14,800 --> 01:04:17,880
Speaker 4: do sit in front of them you get a little

1006
01:04:17,960 --> 01:04:18,800
Speaker 4: bit nervous about?

1007
01:04:20,120 --> 01:04:20,240
Speaker 5: Uh?

1008
01:04:20,680 --> 01:04:25,040
Speaker 1: Certainly Serena. I felt that way when I was in

1009
01:04:25,080 --> 01:04:28,360
Speaker 1: her presence at that thing. Thank it was just it's like,

1010
01:04:28,560 --> 01:04:33,720
Speaker 1: this is sorre looms. And what was kind of funny

1011
01:04:33,760 --> 01:04:36,560
Speaker 1: is I'd actually worked at the US Open as a

1012
01:04:36,640 --> 01:04:43,200
Speaker 1: court attendant in my uh sophomore year of college. How

1013
01:04:43,240 --> 01:04:45,960
Speaker 1: funny that summer and I worked as a court attendant

1014
01:04:45,960 --> 01:04:51,919
Speaker 1: working one of her events and our matches on Arthur

1015
01:04:51,960 --> 01:04:55,800
Speaker 1: ash Stadium, and so I actually met her then she

1016
01:04:55,840 --> 01:05:01,160
Speaker 1: didn't remember, but not not surprisingly It's okay, but then, like,

1017
01:05:01,320 --> 01:05:03,800
Speaker 1: you know, tell her that story. She thought it was

1018
01:05:03,840 --> 01:05:07,760
Speaker 1: pretty cool that you know, I did that, And but obviously,

1019
01:05:07,800 --> 01:05:10,080
Speaker 1: you know, she's just such an impressive person, not only

1020
01:05:10,480 --> 01:05:13,320
Speaker 1: as an athlete, but I love what she's doing off

1021
01:05:13,360 --> 01:05:18,560
Speaker 1: the court and really making herself a woman of many

1022
01:05:18,600 --> 01:05:22,280
Speaker 1: skills and talents. And I think the people I'm most

1023
01:05:22,360 --> 01:05:26,520
Speaker 1: inspired by Alison Felix is another one. She's a good friend,

1024
01:05:26,560 --> 01:05:28,560
Speaker 1: but whenever I'm around her, I feel like I just

1025
01:05:28,640 --> 01:05:31,960
Speaker 1: sound like an idiot because I get so nervous and

1026
01:05:32,000 --> 01:05:34,400
Speaker 1: I try to like be engaging, and then I'm like,

1027
01:05:34,440 --> 01:05:37,560
Speaker 1: but I'm talking to Allison feelings. The people I'm really

1028
01:05:37,560 --> 01:05:41,000
Speaker 1: impressed by here are not only great athletes. There's a

1029
01:05:41,000 --> 01:05:43,480
Speaker 1: lot of really great athletes, but the people that I'm

1030
01:05:43,520 --> 01:05:49,000
Speaker 1: really most impressed, moved inspired by are the ones who

1031
01:05:49,120 --> 01:05:54,760
Speaker 1: are much more than just an athlete, doing things that

1032
01:05:54,920 --> 01:05:57,919
Speaker 1: are you know, showing that as a woman you can

1033
01:05:57,960 --> 01:06:00,439
Speaker 1: do and have and be at all. And I think

1034
01:06:00,480 --> 01:06:03,320
Speaker 1: that's something I really strive for because so much as

1035
01:06:03,360 --> 01:06:07,000
Speaker 1: society still tells women that they've got to stay in

1036
01:06:07,040 --> 01:06:10,080
Speaker 1: their lane and they have to sacrifice this to have this,

1037
01:06:10,360 --> 01:06:13,240
Speaker 1: and and people try to put you in these boxes

1038
01:06:13,400 --> 01:06:16,320
Speaker 1: right of what you should be doing and the roles

1039
01:06:16,360 --> 01:06:18,440
Speaker 1: and the lanes that you should be in. And I

1040
01:06:18,520 --> 01:06:23,880
Speaker 1: love women who have defied that and you know, are

1041
01:06:23,960 --> 01:06:25,840
Speaker 1: saying people tell me I can't have it all, well,

1042
01:06:25,880 --> 01:06:28,120
Speaker 1: I can't and I can do it all. And I'm

1043
01:06:28,160 --> 01:06:31,280
Speaker 1: just really impressed by that because it's something that you know,

1044
01:06:31,360 --> 01:06:33,320
Speaker 1: I want to be too. I see myself as so

1045
01:06:33,440 --> 01:06:37,560
Speaker 1: much more than just an athlete, and you know, I

1046
01:06:37,560 --> 01:06:39,600
Speaker 1: think it's important for people to know that too.

1047
01:06:41,120 --> 01:06:44,080
Speaker 4: You just said the term I believe it was not

1048
01:06:44,280 --> 01:06:46,400
Speaker 4: staying in my lane. And at the top of this

1049
01:06:46,600 --> 01:06:49,440
Speaker 4: we talked about how it may feel at times to

1050
01:06:50,000 --> 01:06:54,240
Speaker 4: feel as though others are defining you by your disability.

1051
01:06:54,440 --> 01:06:57,640
Speaker 4: When you look in the mirror, scout, what is it

1052
01:06:57,680 --> 01:07:00,080
Speaker 4: that you see looking back at you?

1053
01:07:00,080 --> 01:07:06,480
Speaker 1: You I see myself as a disruptor, a change maker,

1054
01:07:07,000 --> 01:07:13,640
Speaker 1: a difference maker, and you know, somebody who's just absolutely

1055
01:07:13,680 --> 01:07:17,560
Speaker 1: relentless in all things in life. And that's what I'm

1056
01:07:17,600 --> 01:07:22,400
Speaker 1: most proud of. The other day, my coach, I actually

1057
01:07:22,480 --> 01:07:24,680
Speaker 1: made a huge change this off season and went to

1058
01:07:24,720 --> 01:07:27,320
Speaker 1: a new coach and a new program after being with

1059
01:07:27,920 --> 01:07:31,280
Speaker 1: my previous coach for six years. And it's always scary

1060
01:07:31,360 --> 01:07:34,600
Speaker 1: when you make those kind of huge career changes, life

1061
01:07:34,680 --> 01:07:38,320
Speaker 1: changes like that. But one thing that she said to

1062
01:07:38,360 --> 01:07:42,120
Speaker 1: me was she said, you are the hardest working athlete

1063
01:07:42,200 --> 01:07:44,880
Speaker 1: I've ever worked with. And she works with you know,

1064
01:07:44,960 --> 01:07:49,680
Speaker 1: elite college coaches, I mean college athletes, And she said,

1065
01:07:49,760 --> 01:07:51,800
Speaker 1: just to see that your work ethic and the way

1066
01:07:51,840 --> 01:07:54,120
Speaker 1: you show up every day and you don't make excuses

1067
01:07:54,120 --> 01:07:58,440
Speaker 1: and you just like you're just relentless. And it just

1068
01:07:58,480 --> 01:08:00,959
Speaker 1: gave me such a sense of prime when she told

1069
01:08:01,000 --> 01:08:04,360
Speaker 1: me that, because that's how I want people to see

1070
01:08:04,400 --> 01:08:08,880
Speaker 1: me too, as somebody who is you know, just works

1071
01:08:08,920 --> 01:08:12,720
Speaker 1: really hard, has never had anything handed to them. Things

1072
01:08:12,720 --> 01:08:16,519
Speaker 1: have never come easily, and I want people to know that,

1073
01:08:17,479 --> 01:08:20,200
Speaker 1: you know, in life, there's going to be so many

1074
01:08:20,240 --> 01:08:23,760
Speaker 1: times and circumstances where it's not set up for you

1075
01:08:23,840 --> 01:08:28,240
Speaker 1: to succeed. In fact, if it was that way, you

1076
01:08:28,240 --> 01:08:31,200
Speaker 1: wouldn't appreciate the success as much. And we see that

1077
01:08:31,240 --> 01:08:35,920
Speaker 1: in athletes where everything has come so easily, or they've

1078
01:08:35,960 --> 01:08:38,559
Speaker 1: come into it in a situation where they had every

1079
01:08:38,640 --> 01:08:42,479
Speaker 1: resource available, and it's not the same attitude, it's not

1080
01:08:42,560 --> 01:08:46,479
Speaker 1: the same perspective. And so you know, I really I

1081
01:08:46,520 --> 01:08:49,840
Speaker 1: want people to know that, you know, if it's all

1082
01:08:49,840 --> 01:08:52,559
Speaker 1: set up for you to succeed, it might not be

1083
01:08:52,600 --> 01:08:54,400
Speaker 1: the right thing, you know, and it's certainly not going

1084
01:08:54,479 --> 01:08:57,880
Speaker 1: to mold and build you to who you want to be.

1085
01:08:57,880 --> 01:09:01,760
Speaker 1: Because the best things in life, the most valuable thing

1086
01:09:01,880 --> 01:09:07,240
Speaker 1: wins I've gotten, the most precious things that I have

1087
01:09:07,360 --> 01:09:10,679
Speaker 1: in my life, have all come from the really hard stuff.

1088
01:09:10,760 --> 01:09:15,000
Speaker 1: It's never come from being on the podium, winning having records.

1089
01:09:15,400 --> 01:09:18,080
Speaker 1: It's come from the hardest things I've ever had to do,

1090
01:09:18,120 --> 01:09:25,200
Speaker 1: the hardest decisions, the hardest seasons. And I appreciate everything

1091
01:09:25,920 --> 01:09:29,680
Speaker 1: so much more because it didn't come easily, because it

1092
01:09:29,720 --> 01:09:32,000
Speaker 1: wasn't just handed, and that you're going to have to

1093
01:09:32,040 --> 01:09:36,200
Speaker 1: work for it. And so that's what I really appreciate.

1094
01:09:37,280 --> 01:09:40,120
Speaker 2: For those that may be listening to this, who.

1095
01:09:41,560 --> 01:09:46,520
Speaker 4: May not be quite where you're at with their disability

1096
01:09:46,560 --> 01:09:52,360
Speaker 4: perhaps or navigating disability on their own, what advice do

1097
01:09:52,400 --> 01:09:56,080
Speaker 4: you have to offer them as they make their way

1098
01:09:56,439 --> 01:09:58,240
Speaker 4: on their journey.

1099
01:10:00,280 --> 01:10:05,400
Speaker 1: Into that journey Not to resist hard things, hard seasons.

1100
01:10:07,160 --> 01:10:10,040
Speaker 1: I think so many of us the natural instinct when

1101
01:10:10,080 --> 01:10:14,559
Speaker 1: we're hit with something really difficult, myself included, is what

1102
01:10:14,560 --> 01:10:17,600
Speaker 1: can we do to just make this go away, or

1103
01:10:17,640 --> 01:10:19,880
Speaker 1: to avoid it, or to run from or to cover

1104
01:10:19,960 --> 01:10:21,800
Speaker 1: it up so that I don't have to deal with it,

1105
01:10:22,240 --> 01:10:26,320
Speaker 1: or that I don't have to confront it. And the

1106
01:10:26,400 --> 01:10:29,840
Speaker 1: only thing that it does is it just delays things.

1107
01:10:30,479 --> 01:10:33,280
Speaker 1: It doesn't make it go away. It just delays whatever

1108
01:10:33,920 --> 01:10:37,519
Speaker 1: journey you're supposed to be on. And so for me,

1109
01:10:39,080 --> 01:10:42,719
Speaker 1: I've whenever I've leaned into the hard stuff and I

1110
01:10:42,800 --> 01:10:45,920
Speaker 1: say to myself, something good's going to come from this

1111
01:10:46,080 --> 01:10:49,320
Speaker 1: if I allow it to. I want to grow from this.

1112
01:10:49,520 --> 01:10:51,439
Speaker 1: I want to build. I want to evolve from this.

1113
01:10:51,640 --> 01:10:55,080
Speaker 1: Like I want whatever lessons I can gain from this

1114
01:10:55,240 --> 01:11:00,800
Speaker 1: really difficult thing, obstacle, hurdle, challenge, strouss go, whatever it

1115
01:11:00,920 --> 01:11:04,880
Speaker 1: might be. I want to get the very most out

1116
01:11:04,960 --> 01:11:07,000
Speaker 1: of it is I can. When I go in with

1117
01:11:07,040 --> 01:11:11,240
Speaker 1: that perspective, uh, it makes it a lot easier. You're

1118
01:11:11,280 --> 01:11:14,040
Speaker 1: not hiding it, you're not resisting it, and so I

1119
01:11:14,200 --> 01:11:16,840
Speaker 1: just say whatever, if you're in a hard season or

1120
01:11:16,880 --> 01:11:21,160
Speaker 1: approaching that, just to lean in, you know, to take

1121
01:11:21,200 --> 01:11:24,080
Speaker 1: out and get the most of it from that. Because

1122
01:11:24,240 --> 01:11:28,400
Speaker 1: if you're if you allow it yourself, every struggle, every

1123
01:11:28,400 --> 01:11:31,240
Speaker 1: hardship you go through is going to teach you something

1124
01:11:31,320 --> 01:11:34,439
Speaker 1: really incredible. The hard thing is that most of us

1125
01:11:34,720 --> 01:11:37,880
Speaker 1: don't want to find out what that is, right, and

1126
01:11:38,640 --> 01:11:41,080
Speaker 1: it's hard. So I would just say to lean in

1127
01:11:41,120 --> 01:11:44,000
Speaker 1: and just you know, get the best out of whatever

1128
01:11:44,680 --> 01:11:48,880
Speaker 1: that difficulty is because difficulties exist in life for a reason.

1129
01:11:49,080 --> 01:11:52,400
Speaker 1: It's not there to just put you on a detour.

1130
01:11:52,520 --> 01:11:55,960
Speaker 1: It's there to do something, to teach you, something to

1131
01:11:56,080 --> 01:11:59,479
Speaker 1: grow you, to mold you, and just embrace that.

1132
01:12:00,960 --> 01:12:03,520
Speaker 2: Grace and patience. Grace and patience.

1133
01:12:03,560 --> 01:12:06,360
Speaker 4: You also mentioned just now, you said, just now working

1134
01:12:06,400 --> 01:12:09,280
Speaker 4: with a new coach. What else excites you at the moment.

1135
01:12:10,720 --> 01:12:13,759
Speaker 1: I'm working on a couple of projects that are really

1136
01:12:13,800 --> 01:12:19,040
Speaker 1: exciting that I can't quite talk about but just yet.

1137
01:12:20,520 --> 01:12:23,400
Speaker 1: We can come back and discuss that when it comes out.

1138
01:12:24,240 --> 01:12:27,120
Speaker 1: But those are really really great things. You know, I'm

1139
01:12:27,120 --> 01:12:31,479
Speaker 1: only something funny has kind of happened, and you know,

1140
01:12:32,000 --> 01:12:35,760
Speaker 1: I'm more towards the sunset of my career than the

1141
01:12:35,800 --> 01:12:41,000
Speaker 1: sun rise. But what I have really enjoyed in this

1142
01:12:41,240 --> 01:12:44,160
Speaker 1: time is, you know, I'm aiming for twenty twenty four,

1143
01:12:44,240 --> 01:12:47,680
Speaker 1: and what I've realized in this go around is just

1144
01:12:47,720 --> 01:12:52,240
Speaker 1: to really relish the process more, not to be so

1145
01:12:52,439 --> 01:12:56,519
Speaker 1: fixated on the outcome or the results. But this is

1146
01:12:56,560 --> 01:13:01,960
Speaker 1: something that is finite, right, There's an end to this,

1147
01:13:02,600 --> 01:13:04,559
Speaker 1: and I want to be able to when it's all

1148
01:13:04,960 --> 01:13:08,320
Speaker 1: said and done, to say, like I loved every single

1149
01:13:08,360 --> 01:13:11,800
Speaker 1: moment of being an athlete, even the really hard things,

1150
01:13:12,400 --> 01:13:13,880
Speaker 1: but that I made the most of it, and I

1151
01:13:13,960 --> 01:13:19,040
Speaker 1: loved the journey, the work, the process more than you

1152
01:13:19,160 --> 01:13:21,360
Speaker 1: have to love that more than the result, because the

1153
01:13:21,400 --> 01:13:26,800
Speaker 1: truth is there's a lot of failure. You know, you're

1154
01:13:26,840 --> 01:13:30,400
Speaker 1: probably gonna lose more races than you win races, and

1155
01:13:30,520 --> 01:13:33,040
Speaker 1: so as a result, you just have to love the process.

1156
01:13:33,040 --> 01:13:37,679
Speaker 1: And that's what I'm this go around really enjoying more

1157
01:13:37,800 --> 01:13:41,240
Speaker 1: is just that the process of the grind and the

1158
01:13:41,320 --> 01:13:44,599
Speaker 1: ups and the downs of that come with being just

1159
01:13:44,880 --> 01:13:48,479
Speaker 1: you know, being an athlete, but loving this really like,

1160
01:13:48,760 --> 01:13:50,800
Speaker 1: I feel like I love it now more than I

1161
01:13:50,840 --> 01:13:52,760
Speaker 1: ever have, and that's a wonderful thing.

1162
01:13:53,479 --> 01:13:56,120
Speaker 4: I love hearing that that, Just like truly, I feel

1163
01:13:56,120 --> 01:13:58,760
Speaker 4: like there are probably so many people listening to this

1164
01:13:58,880 --> 01:14:03,160
Speaker 4: right now that also needed to hear that piece of advice.

1165
01:14:03,920 --> 01:14:07,360
Speaker 4: Speaking of advice, the last question here for you today, Scout.

1166
01:14:08,000 --> 01:14:12,000
Speaker 4: Right now, you have an opportunity looking back on I

1167
01:14:12,080 --> 01:14:15,960
Speaker 4: really want to say, you know, that time period dealing

1168
01:14:16,360 --> 01:14:21,320
Speaker 4: with not going to the twenty twenty Paralympics, it seems

1169
01:14:21,320 --> 01:14:25,280
Speaker 4: as though when it comes to hurdles in your athletic career,

1170
01:14:25,439 --> 01:14:29,320
Speaker 4: that was a really monumental one. So right now you

1171
01:14:29,360 --> 01:14:33,160
Speaker 4: have an opportunity, looking back on that time to offer

1172
01:14:33,240 --> 01:14:37,000
Speaker 4: yourself one piece of advice, looking at that hurdle moment,

1173
01:14:37,080 --> 01:14:38,759
Speaker 4: What is it that you tell yourself?

1174
01:14:39,560 --> 01:14:41,519
Speaker 1: The answer would be that it's going to be okay,

1175
01:14:42,439 --> 01:14:45,200
Speaker 1: because in the moment and at the time when I

1176
01:14:45,240 --> 01:14:53,040
Speaker 1: didn't make the selection, I remember just being like, it's

1177
01:14:53,120 --> 01:14:55,439
Speaker 1: like your heart just falls out of your chest, right

1178
01:14:55,560 --> 01:14:59,839
Speaker 1: and it's just shattered. And for a couple of weeks

1179
01:15:00,080 --> 01:15:05,040
Speaker 1: I wasn't okay, and there were tears almost every day,

1180
01:15:05,520 --> 01:15:08,759
Speaker 1: but I had this feeling of like, oh my gosh,

1181
01:15:08,800 --> 01:15:10,840
Speaker 1: where do I go from here? It's the end of

1182
01:15:10,880 --> 01:15:13,640
Speaker 1: the world, Like this is it and you just you

1183
01:15:13,760 --> 01:15:16,400
Speaker 1: feel like it's the end of the road, right And

1184
01:15:16,479 --> 01:15:20,280
Speaker 1: I remember just being like, and what I realized now

1185
01:15:20,400 --> 01:15:23,760
Speaker 1: is it's not the end all be all. Life goes on.

1186
01:15:25,439 --> 01:15:29,200
Speaker 1: But also how thankful I am for all the people

1187
01:15:29,320 --> 01:15:33,160
Speaker 1: my life at that time and now who have like

1188
01:15:33,280 --> 01:15:35,360
Speaker 1: held me together and helped me to pick up the

1189
01:15:35,360 --> 01:15:39,640
Speaker 1: pieces and just pushed me to keep going. And you

1190
01:15:39,760 --> 01:15:43,680
Speaker 1: still have your best is still in you, and that

1191
01:15:44,760 --> 01:15:48,800
Speaker 1: one day, one race doesn't define who you are. One

1192
01:15:48,880 --> 01:15:52,880
Speaker 1: failure doesn't define you. And I think that's important to

1193
01:15:52,960 --> 01:15:58,639
Speaker 1: keep in mind because oftentimes when we fall short of

1194
01:15:58,680 --> 01:16:02,040
Speaker 1: our dream or our expectation, or when we don't get

1195
01:16:02,080 --> 01:16:05,840
Speaker 1: what we want, it often feels like it's it's the end,

1196
01:16:06,120 --> 01:16:10,599
Speaker 1: right and and a lot of times we say, oh,

1197
01:16:10,720 --> 01:16:13,479
Speaker 1: that's the sign I must be done, like give up.

1198
01:16:14,200 --> 01:16:17,679
Speaker 1: And I'm just thankful for everybody in my life who

1199
01:16:18,680 --> 01:16:22,479
Speaker 1: helped me to realize, like not to define myself by that.

1200
01:16:22,960 --> 01:16:25,720
Speaker 1: You know that I am so much more than that

1201
01:16:25,760 --> 01:16:28,760
Speaker 1: one moment, in that one race. And I would say

1202
01:16:28,800 --> 01:16:31,800
Speaker 1: that for anybody, you know, whether you don't get that

1203
01:16:31,960 --> 01:16:35,840
Speaker 1: job promotion or that pay upgrade that you were hoping for,

1204
01:16:36,040 --> 01:16:40,519
Speaker 1: or maybe it's something more personal, maybe you want to

1205
01:16:40,560 --> 01:16:43,640
Speaker 1: have children and you're not. That's not happening, whatever it

1206
01:16:43,720 --> 01:16:45,880
Speaker 1: might be, Or you want to get married and that's

1207
01:16:45,920 --> 01:16:49,479
Speaker 1: not happening, whatever goals or dreams you have. That a

1208
01:16:49,560 --> 01:16:53,160
Speaker 1: delay is not always denial. It just means it's not

1209
01:16:53,280 --> 01:16:57,360
Speaker 1: right now. And I think it's important for people to

1210
01:16:57,439 --> 01:17:00,880
Speaker 1: keep that in perspective, that a delay doesn't mean that

1211
01:17:01,080 --> 01:17:02,920
Speaker 1: it's never going to happen, or that you just got

1212
01:17:02,960 --> 01:17:07,559
Speaker 1: to quit it. Sometimes it's just that it's just a delay.

1213
01:17:07,640 --> 01:17:10,719
Speaker 1: It's that it's for you, but it's not happening right now.

1214
01:17:11,040 --> 01:17:13,639
Speaker 1: It's not your time. And in many ways I feel

1215
01:17:13,680 --> 01:17:17,120
Speaker 1: like I'm a better athlete now than I was the

1216
01:17:17,200 --> 01:17:22,439
Speaker 1: last go around, just all around, mentally, physically, emotionally, and

1217
01:17:22,600 --> 01:17:24,439
Speaker 1: that's a really wonderful place to be.

1218
01:17:25,800 --> 01:17:28,160
Speaker 3: What a journey Scout. Let me tell you this combo

1219
01:17:28,600 --> 01:17:31,920
Speaker 3: undoubtedly worth the weight. Ten out of ten would do

1220
01:17:32,040 --> 01:17:35,080
Speaker 3: it again. How do the hurdlers follow along with you?

1221
01:17:35,200 --> 01:17:37,320
Speaker 3: How do they keep up with you as you continue

1222
01:17:37,400 --> 01:17:38,880
Speaker 3: along in this beautiful chapter?

1223
01:17:38,960 --> 01:17:40,200
Speaker 2: Give us all the details.

1224
01:17:40,520 --> 01:17:44,960
Speaker 1: Thank you so much. You are tremendous. I understand and

1225
01:17:45,040 --> 01:17:48,800
Speaker 1: see now why your podcast is so successful. You do

1226
01:17:48,840 --> 01:17:54,800
Speaker 1: such a great job. It's just at Scout Bassett and

1227
01:17:55,280 --> 01:17:57,800
Speaker 1: Bassett is with two s's and two teas.

1228
01:17:57,880 --> 01:17:58,400
Speaker 2: Beautiful.

1229
01:17:58,560 --> 01:18:01,280
Speaker 3: I'm over at Hurdle podcast an at Emily a body,

1230
01:18:01,600 --> 01:18:03,280
Speaker 3: another hurdle conquered.

1231
01:18:03,760 --> 01:18:04,880
Speaker 2: Catch you guys next time.