1 Year Job Anniversary

Yesterday was my one ONE year anniversary at the gym I am currently working at. Time flies when you least expect it and it doesn’t even feel like one year, I made this post in honor of the hard work I have done there but also in honor of the opportunities it has opened up to me along the way (big and small). I had always wanted to work at a gym, but was too nervous to apply for a job because at the time I wasn’t certified in personal training and felt as though I wouldn’t be good enough. Thankfully I took the dive and worked the front desk and got to know customers, made new friendships and even became close to the owner of the gym, which in the long run will be good for my resume and future pursuits. I am blessed that even though I wasn’t certified at the time, she allowed me to train clients and get the experience I needed so when it came time to train people once certified I would feel more comfortable. She believed in me, and that is what I appreciated most about this owner/boss, is the fact she believed in me and trusted me. 

I have dealt a great amount of responsibility since working at the gym — I close and open the gym on my own many times, I am trusted to train clients during my own schedule since becoming certified (I was certified by ACSM in April 2017) and she knows I get the job done when needed. I still work the front desk but I also train people when given the opportunity, and while I am still learning and still working on building my list of clients, I know if I had not made the plunge, I never would have opened this door in my life. While I do plan on moving at some point to a bigger city, this has lent me more experience to add to my resumes, and professional references to list. I love my job at the gym, I love coming to work and being part of this small team of employees. She has been the best boss anyone could ask for, one of my favorites to be honest and one of the most kindest and sincere people I’ve met. I have learned a lot about my boss through conversation, and I believe she has learned quite a lot about me as well. I have leaned some things about owning a gym through watching her interact with customers, and having asked questions to get a better understanding of how things work in a business point of view. I dream of one day possibly owning my own gym, and hopefully all the good qualities she has and the hard work she has put into her gym, I can take with me when it comes time for me to run my own business. 

I am so very thankful of this job – I work part time due to another job, but in working part time, it still has helped me financially recover and helped me to grow inside and outside in both my physical training and my social skills and my mentality as well. Sadly, she is looking to sell her gym after 10 years, for reasons I won’t go into — regardless of where things go from here on out with the gym, all I know is this 1 year has been one of the better experiences in my life. When it comes time to either shut the gym down or go under new ownership, it won’t be easy to adjust and it might take some time before it hits me hard enough to where I start to tear up a bit but it will be a chapter in my life that will forever hold a meaningful place in my heart. 

Thank you to all those at the gym who have pushed me to do better, who have been supportive, who have been more than gym goers, but like family to me. thank you to the owner/my boss for putting up with my stressful days and for being patient with me, for being kind, for trusting me, for allowing me to work for your company, for teaching me new things, allowing me to be myself at work and for granting me the opportunity of training clients with and without a certification. I am so very honored I had the chance to make this gym my second home 😀

Shay-lon