Roosevelt and Brown: Stepping Into The Arena

  “The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena...who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.” Theodore Roosevelt, “The Man in the Arena”

Although it was Teddy Roosevelt who spoke these words in 1910, it was author and researcher Brené Brown who introduced me to the concept of the arena, or the space created when people are faced with new challenges. Over the past year, the gym has become one of my arenas. Each week that I bench or squat, I bring my Cerebral Palsy along with me, sometimes as a partner and sometimes as an opponent. I am starting this blog to share very honestly what happens in my arena--imperfect form, occasional impostor syndrome, falling down (sometimes literally), and trying again. I hope that in the process of sharing, people take away something that helps them navigate through their own arenas.