An excerpt from a piece I wrote called “Peace Over Podiums” for my website. I’ve been kind of tortured by this question lately: “Does performing at the highest level of sport require sacrificing one’s happiness and personal peace?” We’ve all seen so many of the top athletes struggle with mental health over the years- Naomi Osaka, Michael Phelps, Simone Biles, and Chloe Kim, just to name a few who have shared openly. They seem to have it all, but when they let their walls down we can see how much they struggle too. I’ve spent the last 2 years intentionally building the life I want and now I look around and I realize that I did it. Except I still spend WAY too much time and energy worrying about the future and wanting to get back to competing on the world stage. I wonder if I can have both: peace AND podiums. I’m honestly not sure. But I’m committed to keeping my peace and working towards the podium, knowing full well that I might never get back there. Or maybe I will? Stick around to...