Finding his Power

    The proudest moment of my life so far came at the end of last year. I was working out in the weight room. My coach said I should see how much weight I could lift on my shoulders. 

    I did 180. 

    Then 190. 

    Then 200.

    I kept going until I lifted 225 pounds—more than twice my body weight! 

    You might think it would hurt to lift that much, but it felt amazing. My whole body was working in sync. It was like I was doing exactly what I was born to do. 

    It had just taken me 14 years to figure it out.

    The proudest moment of my life so far came at the end of last year. I was in the weight room. My coach said I should see how much weight I could lift on my shoulders.

    I did 180.

    Then 190.

    Then 200.

    At last, I lifted 225 pounds. That was more than twice my body weight!

    It didn’t hurt to lift that much. It felt great. My whole body was working  in sync. It was like I was doing what I was born to do.

    It had just taken me 14 years to figure it out.

    The proudest moment of my life so far came when I was working out in the weight room at the end of last year. My coach said I should see how much weight I could lift on my shoulders.

    I lifted 180 pounds.

    Then 190.

    Then 200.

    I kept going until I lifted 225 pounds—more than twice my body weight!

    You might imagine that lifting that much would be painful, but it actually felt incredible. My entire body was working in sync. It was like I was doing exactly what I was born to do.

    It had just taken me 14 years to figure it out.

    When I started high school, there wasn’t much I cared about. Getting good grades wasn’t important to me. I didn’t have many friends. I would spend most of my free time in my room playing video games.

    I’ve always loved sports, but I thought I couldn’t play most of them. That’s because I was born with a medical condition called dwarfism. 

    People with dwarfism are 4'10" or shorter as adults. My specific type of dwarfism is called achondroplasia [ay-kahn-droh-PLAY-zhuh]. 

    That means that I have short arms and legs. 

    I still wanted to get involved in sports. So I became the football team’s water boy. One day that fall, I was in the weight room with the team. I saw some weights and picked them up. 

    I realized lifting was a sport I could do without anybody helping me. I was intrigued right away. 

    When I started high school, I didn’t care about much. I didn’t care about my grades. I didn’t have many friends. I spent a lot of time in my room playing video games.

    I did love sports. But I thought I couldn’t play most of them. That’s because I was born with a condition called dwarfism.

    People with dwarfism are 4'10" or shorter as adults. My specific type of dwarfism is called achondroplasia [ay-kahn-droh-PLAY-zhuh]. That means I have short arms and legs.

    I found a way to get involved in sports. I became the football team’s water boy. One day that fall, I was in the weight room with the team. I picked up some weights.

    I realized something: Lifting was a sport I could do without help. I was intrigued. 

    When I started high school, there wasn’t much I cared about. Getting good grades wasn’t important to me, and I didn’t have many friends. I would spend most of my free time in my room playing video games.

    I’ve always loved sports, but I thought I couldn’t play most of them because I was born with a medical condition called dwarfism.

    People with dwarfism are 4'10" or shorter as adults. My specific type of dwarfism, called achondroplasia [ay-kahn-droh-PLAY-zhuh], means I have short arms and legs.

    I still wanted to participate in sports in some way, so I became the football team’s water boy. One day that fall, in the weight room with the team, I saw some weights and picked them up.

    I realized lifting was a sport I could do without anybody helping me, and I was immediately intrigued. 

    I went home and asked my mom if I could lift weights. We checked with my doctor, who said yes. That day, I joined my school’s powerlifting team. 

    Powerlifting is all about lifting as much weight as you possibly can. At meets, you compete against people in your weight class. (That means they weigh about the same as you.) 

    On my first day of practice, I was so nervous. Would my new teammates be nice to me even though I look different? Would I be good enough to earn their respect?

    It turns out I didn’t need to earn it. The team accepted me right away. Still, that first practice wasn’t easy. When I climbed into my mom’s car afterward, I was shaking and pale. I had worked myself too hard, but it was worth it. I felt so happy.

    I asked my mom if I could lift weights. We checked with my doctor. The answer was yes. So I joined my school’s powerlifting team.

    Powerlifting is about lifting as much weight as you can. At meets, you compete against people in your weight class. (That means they weigh about the same as you.)

    At my first practice, I was nervous. Would my new teammates be nice? Would they care that I look different? Would I be good enough to earn their respect?

    I didn’t need to worry. My teammates were nice. Still, that first practice was hard. By the end, I was shaking and pale. I had worked too hard. But it was worth it. I was happy.

    I went home and asked my mother if I could lift weights. Once we had my doctor’s approval, I joined my school’s powerlifting team.

    Powerlifting is all about lifting as much weight as you possibly can. At meets, you compete against people in your weight class—people who weigh about the same as you.

    I was nervous on my first day of practice. I wondered if my new teammates would be friendly even though I look different, and I wondered whether I’d be a good enough athlete to earn their respect.

    As it turned out, I had nothing to worry about—the team accepted me right away. Still, that first practice wasn’t easy. When I climbed into my mom’s car afterward, I was shaking and pale. I had worked myself too hard, but it was worth it. I felt so happy.

    As the season went on, I fell more in love with powerlifting. My height had always made me feel weaker than my peers. Lifting made me feel strong. I started working out every day and got healthier. 

    Life improved for me outside the weight room too. To stay on the team, I needed good grades. That inspired me to work hard for A’s and B’s. My parents, teachers, and coach were all proud.

    But my favorite thing about the sport was the friendships I made. My teammates started to feel like my second family.

    They cracked jokes when I was nervous. They helped me with heavy weights. And they cheered me on at my first meet. With their support, I finished third in my weight class.

    I loved powerlifting. My height had always made me feel weaker than my peers. Lifting made me feel strong. I started working out every day. I got healthier.

    Other things got better too. To stay on the team, I needed good grades. So I worked hard for A’s and B’s. My parents were proud. So were my teachers and coach.

    The best part was the friends I made. My teammates were like a second family.

    They cracked jokes when I was nervous. They helped me with heavy weights. And they cheered me on at my first meet. With their support, I came in third in my weight class.

    As the season continued, I fell more in love with powerlifting. My height had always made me feel weaker than my peers, but lifting made me feel strong. I started working out every day and got healthier.

    My life outside the weight room improved too. Because good grades were required to stay on the team, I worked hard for A’s and B’s. My parents, teachers, and coach were all proud.

    But my favorite thing about the sport was the friendships I made. My teammates started to feel like my second family.

    They cracked jokes when I was nervous, and they helped me with especially heavy weights. They also cheered me on at my first meet—and with their support, I finished third in my weight class.