Defying The Odds
To defy the odds is persevere whenever a failure is seemingly the most likely outcome. To succeed when others predict failure. To overcome obstacles and unpredicted changes and still come out on top.
Whenever I set out to move to Colorado in August of 2015, I had a lofty and lengthy list of goals and ambitions I was looking to conquer, and the odds were seemingly stacked against me. From selling most of everything I owned to make the cross country move where I didn’t know a single person and then to get to work to accomplish those goals – it all seemed overwhelming and was terrifying at times but I knew if I just put in the work and the focus I would achieve what I set out to do.
Among those goals I mentioned, I planned to train Bang Muay Thai kickboxing under Sensei Duane Ludwig, to become a certified personal trainer, become a Dolce Diet Coach, get a few certifications from the Onnit Academy, start fighting competitively, and after being in Colorado for a year get back in school and finish my degree in nutrition.
I moved into my first apartment at the beginning of August and by the end of the month I had joined the family at Ludwig Martial Arts and by November I passed my exam to become a certified personal trainer, I was assisting with the kids' program at the dojo, and then in December with the gracious help of Sensei Ludwig, I flew out to Vegas and earned my Dolce Diet Coach certification. Then in January, again with Sensei’s help, I flew down to Austin to get my first Onnit Certification and shortly after that I formed my LLC and effectively became a small business owner and so within the first 6 months of moving to Colorado I had accomplished several of the larger goals I intended to conquer. Over the next year and a half, I essentially worked, trained, and was out in the mountains any chance I got. During the summer of 2018, I was slated to take my first kickboxing fight and had to pull out of the fight about 3 weeks out because of a rib injury I sustained while sparring. I ended up taking my first fight later that year in December and won a hard-fought and very close split decision.
That fight was one of the hardest and most rewarding things I’ve ever done in my life. I learned a lot about myself in that short 6 minutes and I can’t wait to do it again.
At the beginning of 2018, I re-enrolled into school and started working towards one of the last goals on my original list that I had set out to accomplish. Unfortunately, as the workload in my classes and level of difficulty began to increase and my relationship grew more serious, I recognized that I had been burning the candle at both ends for too long and my health and my grades were suffering because of it. In September of 2018, I had to make the hard decision to stop assisting with coaching the kids’ class and ultimately ended up not training so that I could further focus on school and spending what free time I had with my family. That was not a decision I made lately and to this day I miss it like crazy and can’t wait to get back to the dojo. However, it was not made in vain, as I maintained straight A’s every semester after, I was on the dean’s list, and graduated with honors.
Now, over the next 2 years from 2018-2020, there were several unexpected goals and life ambitions that were met without me putting any intentional thought or effort into them. I met a wonderful woman who I married, and we bought a house together, and then to top everything off I just graduated with my degree in human nutrition and dietetics.
Here is where the real kicker is with defying the odds. To become a registered dietitian, you have to apply and be accepted to an internship and once you complete the internship you have to take a board exam and if you pass, only then can you be recognized as a registered dietitian. Well, here’s the deal. There are not many internships for nutrition students and the average acceptance rate last year was about 48% -- so a little less than half of all the nutrition graduates in the country who applied to their internship were matched. Furthermore, if you do match, you somehow have to figure out how to come up with the national average of about $12-14k for the 10-12 month program. This cost is paid out of pocket by the student and there is very and I mean very limited funding for this. Oh, and you’re working an average of 50hrs a week, so you don’t have time for another job. You’re essentially paying to work for free as the internship is entirely unpaid. As you can imagine this is an incredibly daunting and difficult obstacle to agree to and overcome. I applied to the Army-Baylor Graduate Program of Nutrition (GPN) which is even more difficult to be accepted to and is one of the more prestigious programs. The GPN program offers a master’s degree in nutrition as well as a year-long internship all wrapped up in one AND we get a salary. The master’s degree and the internship are 100% paid for by the military and that is your incentive for the 6-year contract you agree to. For some, like myself, this is very appealing and the program only accepts 25 applicants per year and if you don’t meet all the necessary criteria they do not make exceptions to fill seats – so if they have a ton of applicants but only 21 meet the requirements then only 21 will be in the class that year.
Most nutrition graduates who want to become an RD and are applying for internships apply to several internships because the acceptance rate is so low. I had been preparing and working solely for the Army internship and had decided early on that if I wasn’t accepted I would have to figure something out the following year when you could reapply to internships – luckily, or maybe deservingly, I was accepted and it was one of the more satisfying accomplishments in my life.
I’m not saying any of this to brag and or to say I told you so, but rather to tell you that you can accomplish all things you desire if you’re willing to be focused, dedicated, and put in the work. My path has not been easy or conventional but it has been 100% worth it. Almost every month for the first few years I moved out here I questioned how I was going to pay rent or buy groceries, but I always managed to figure it out. Working extra shifts, securing a new client, taking odd jobs, and sometimes the universe straight up smiled down on me and things just worked out. As the saying goes, if it were easy everyone would do it.
Write down your goals, figure out what resonates the most with you, think about the action you need to take to make it happen, and start getting after it. Its never too late and you will be so much happier when you’re living your most authentic life and doing the things you enjoy.
On to the next chapter!
Much love,
Kenny