10/14/2026
Happy Wednesday. What are your thoughts on the phrase "fake it until you make it"?
I don't particularly care for the phrase. It's something I've been told numerous times as a fitness instructor.
Come to class and be happy, even if you're not, put on a face of smiles, fake it until you make it.
If you come to class you know...my face shows everything 😆😭🤭🤔🫣😞😳🤪🤫
My reason for becoming a Zumba® instructor was and has remained, to create a space in which everyone is welcome to move, have fun, destress, in a judgement free environment.
In this environment we form a community in which we feel safe to share our highs and lows.
I might lead the class, but I very much see myself as I see you. Just another individual in the class seeking the same things you are.
I don't do fake. If you ask me a question I will answer it to the best of my knowledge or say I don't know. If you ask how I'm doing, I'll say how I'm doing. Then I'll teach the class with all my best efforts regardless of how I'm feeling.
I won't always share "all the things" because we all have private lives, but I believe in the community we've created together. I believe in honesty, I believe in supporting people, sharing a hug or some tears.
I believe in being authentic and not faking anything.
Life happens and sometimes it hurts and leaves us feeling broken. Being a part of a community in which you can share and be open, even with just a fraction, of what's going on, holds tremendous value.
It shows us we aren't alone.
I won't "fake it". I won't always share everything as I know you all won't. If I'm teaching it's because I want to be there, with the difficulties of life in the background.
Teaching isn't "just" a job for me. I value the connections, the interactions, the celebrations of retirement and new homes, the laughter, the fitness successes, the community support in fundraisers, all of it. I value the tears, the hugs, and the checking in when one of us isn't okay. ❤️
