🟣 Greys Anatomy feels!

Well if it isn't my saucy little spring roll! 🥢

So there's this episode of Grey's Anatomy where April is taking her board exams.

These are massive, career-defining tests that basically determine if she gets to be a proper surgeon or not.

The pressure on.

Expectations are high.

She studies hard and does everything right.

And she fails.

In front of everyone.

While all her mates pass.

Looking like a proper tit.

Watching this scene always takes me back to my school days.

There's me, sat at the back of every exam hall with TWO bloody tables pushed together.

I had this weird eye condition that meant everything needed to be bloody enormous.

We're talking:

🔎 Textbooks blown up to A3.
🔎 Exam papers that looked like movie posters.
🔎 An atlas you could probably see from space.

No other kid in the history of the human race needed this setup.

Anyway, high school trauma dump aside…

But here's where April's story hits different:

She doesn't just give up after failing.

Even though everyone knows she failed.

Even though she feels like a complete muppet.

Even though it would be easier to just quit.

She studies even harder, gets help, takes the exam and passes the second time around.

And it got me thinking about all the women in our community who feel exactly like this about fitness:

👀 Walking into a gym feeling like everyone's staring (they're not - they're too busy looking at themselves in the mirror)
😵‍💫 Trying to wrap your head around lifting weights after years of being told they make you bulky
🥴 Starting another Monday feeling like you've already failed because the last 47 Mondays didn't stick

The shame of feeling like you're the only one who doesn't know what they're doing.

The embarrassment of thinking everyone's judging your form.

The frustration of feeling like your body's ageing like corked wine - struggling with basic bitch things like squatting down to get something from the bottom shelf in Tesco.

I see you.

Every time I walked into an exam hall, I felt like I had a neon sign above my head screaming "LOOK AT THE WEIRD GIRL WITH THE GIANT PAPERS!"

But here's what I learned:

Nobody actually gave a shit about my massive papers.

Just like nobody actually gives a shit about anything you’re doing in the gym (which is a good thing).

April became a board-certified surgeon.

I passed my exams with my billboard-sized papers.

And you? You can absolutely crush this fitness journey.

Because just like April, you can…

✅ Try and fail
✅ Look a bit daft
✅ Take up space (both literally and metaphorically)
✅ Ask for help

And if you want to join a community where we celebrate second chances (and third... and fourth...)?

>>> Click here to join Team Henley

Where nobody gives a toss if you need things explained 17 times

Where we've all got our own version of A3 papers we're dealing with

And where we all crush our goals while loving life.

Big love,
Rachel 🥰