MY Y STORY: DAWN’S REASONS Y
HOW COMING TO THE Y HELPED HER FIND HERSELF
On most Saturdays, you will find Dawn Johnson at the Westside Family YMCA. Specifically, you’ll find her at the 9 am Group Cycle.
“My instructor Andrea says, ‘You’re here for a reason, what is that reason?’”
For Dawn, there are three reasons.
“I’m here to lose weight, find myself and get myself back.”
Dawn, a stay-at-home mom to three, started coming to the Y a little more than a year ago. She said she was battling anxiety and depression, and she needed an outlet.
“The Y has helped me by giving me adult interaction,” Dawn said. “Then I started getting a ‘high’ from working out and feeling good about myself and building my self-confidence.”
Dawn has gotten to know the instructors and built friendships with them and other people in her classes. She is at the Y most days, taking spin and Body Pump classes, and lifting weights and running in the Wellness Center.
“I know it can be so hard, taking the first step of even getting out of your house,” she recalls. “But I thought, ‘Okay I need to do this for myself and for my kids so I can be the best mom and best person and best version of myself.’”
So far, Dawn has lost more than 50 pounds on her wellness journey and is still going. She credits the YMCA with giving her the motivation and encouragement to continue.
“Looking back [on my journey], I don’t feel hate for myself. I feel like, ‘Wow, I am totally fighting for her.’ I haven’t changed, I’m still the same person I’m just more confident and working hard to be the best version I can,” she said with a smile. “When I come here to the Y, my negative thoughts about myself and life cannot serve me.”