About 9 years ago, after a pretty difficult first year of college, I was finally feeling good. In fact, I was feeling euphoric. High on life. It lasted several weeks, and made me wonder, what am I doing right? How can I keep this rolling? So I made a list of all the things that I was doing in my life that I thought were contributing to my happiness. I called this list the Happiness Recipe, and I still refer to it pretty regularly to make sure I am staying on top of my self-care. Some of the things on it have stayed the same over the years (less social media, more nature), and some have been added in the time since moving to Colorado and becoming part of Easton Training Center (work out at least 3 times a week).

One of the big components of my Happiness Recipe that’s stayed the same over the last decade is gratitude. Once in a while, if I’m feeling good (or especially if I’m feeling bad), I like to make a list—I love lists—of all the things I’m thankful for right now. I call these Thankfulness Rundowns, and I recommend this to anybody and everybody.  Taking a moment to remember all the wonderful people, things, and experiences in your life is a great way to boost your mood and improve your mental health. It’s also a good reminder to express that gratitude to those who deserve to hear it, and share the love. Most of us do this a lot this time of year, but I’d like to challenge everyone to do it more often.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I’d like to give a shoutout to the person who has made a huge impact on my Muay Thai journey: Terrence Moore. Coach Terrence is now the Muay Thai department head at Easton Training Center Boulder, and he and I joined the Easton community within a couple of months of each other, at the end of 2013. We often talk about this, and how much our lives and our roles in the academy have evolved in the six years since then. I’ve watched Terrence grow from a brand new instructor into one of the most sought-out coaches in the academy, and I’m pretty sure I’ve taken more classes from Terrence than anyone else at Easton.

Why am I thankful for Terrence? There’s a long list, but here I’d like to talk about how much he has pushed and supported me in my training over the years. Anybody who has taken one of his kickboxing classes can attest to their rigor, and I think it was probably those classes that made me begin to actually enjoy hard physical work. Until I started working at the front desk of Easton, and started taking kickboxing (and for a while Jiu Jitsu and CrossFit) classes, I had never been very athletic.

After years of taking kickboxing and Muay Thai classes with Terrence and all the other amazing instructors at Easton, fitness is a big part of my life. Of course, the more I learn and improve, the more I’m aware of how far I still have left to go. But I am proud of the hundreds of hours I’ve put in, and the amount that I’ve grown through my Muay Thai training.

I’ve been taking private lessons with Terrence for about two years, and I can’t overemphasize how much his instruction has helped me to improve in that time. He’s helped me break out of training plateaus, given me so many tips, details, and techniques catering to my strengths and improving on my weaknesses. He is patient with me when I’m slow to learn something new (often), but he doesn’t let me slack. Most of all, our time together is always fun! There’s nothing cooler than learning new moves while you’re hanging out with a buddy.

I participated in my first Easton in-house smoker last year, and Terrence was instrumental in making that happen. He encouraged me to get over my fears and sign up for something that my pre-Easton self could never have imagined. He helped me to figure out my weekly training schedule, and when he wasn’t holding pads for me, he was always checking in to make sure I was eating, sleeping, and taking care of myself off the mat. He was supportive when I got tired and frustrated, and he did so much to help me mentally prepare for the bout. On fight day, his presence was calm and grounding, and I was so pumped to make him proud. There’s nobody I would’ve rather had in my corner.

So as I reflect on 2019 and my ongoing Muay Thai journey, I want to take this moment to express some gratitude. Thank you, Terrence, for your friendship and mentorship, and for helping me to grow into a stronger, braver version of myself.

I bet every single one of us has a person who has made this kind of impact on our training. Was it the friend who convinced you to take your first class? The instructor who kept you from quitting when the going got tough? Or your significant other who’s supported you the whole way through? We want to know! Give them a shoutout on social media, and use the hashtag #TisTheSeasonWithEaston. Don’t forget to tag us! We can’t wait to share the love.