2016 was a pivotal year for me. It was the year that I graduated high school, started college, became an adult, and had my first encounter with Experience Tricking.

Experience Tricking is an event that has gone from its humble beginnings of being a one day extreme martial arts clinic to an all-weekend event that welcomes people from across the U.S. and around the world. My former martial arts classmates, Ryan Dale and Samantha Lee, are the Co-Founders of Experience Tricking. They work together with a team each year to continuously make it a great and positive event.

In December of 2015, I was asked to volunteer for ET2016. I thought that I was going to go and help out, have some fun with my best friend and little sister, and then move on with my happy life. Boy, was I wrong. That weekend changed my entire outlook on life and that was because of the power of positivity.

Before that life-changing weekend, I didn’t realize how negative my mindset was. This was mostly because of the more personal things that were going on in my life that I let control me. For example, I didn’t realize that I allowed the pain from my last romantic relationship to persist far longer than I should have. I also didn’t realize that I had treated schooling like it was a chore. I know that it is a natural feeling that every student goes through, especially when you’re a senior in high school, but that didn’t give me a free pass for my mindset to be the way that it was. I had to let go of some negative friends. They only fed the negativity that I already had. I also had to stop looking for approval from most family and realize that with or without their support, I will perpetually shine.

Nearly a year after that weekend, I not only look back on how exhausted I was after all the fun that I had, but I look back on the overall experience that I had. I found the positivity that I needed, made friends that will keep forever, strengthened the relationship with my best friend and my little sister, and made peace with who I was before I embarked on this new positive lifestyle. Right now, I am living a more prosperous and productive life. I never thought that I’d be this happy and pleased with myself ever. Thank you Experience Tricking for becoming a vital part in my life.

For more information and to sign up for Experience Tricking 2017 go to https://experiencetricking.com/