My Rhapsody: From feeling lost to finding herself with the support of a solid, strong community, Abby Umberger talks about building confidence and finding courage through Rhapsody CrossFit in Charleston.
What is your story?
I’m a good ‘ole Georgia girl who decided to go to a little college named Wofford in Spartanburg, SC after high school. After graduating from Wofford with an English/Education degree, I moved to Charleston and immediately started teaching. I’ve been at West Ashley High School since I moved here. This will be my third year teaching ninth and tenth grade English.
I’m a girl with a life story that would make one heck of a soap opera. Though I’ve only been on this planet for a short amount of time, I’ve walked through some tragic and crazy seasons of life. However, over the past two years, I was in a place where I lost my sense of self. I lost a lot of confidence, independence and courage – ultimately realizing I wasn’t being sincere to myself.
It’s taken months to heal and grow from that time. Rhapsody came into the picture at the start of rediscovering myself. I’m about four months into this journey and it amazes me how much Rhapsody has helped with my confidence, independence and even courage inside and outside of the box.
Abby Umberger at Rhapsody CrossFit in Charleston, SC.
What brought you to Rhapsody CrossFit?
I wanted to go out of my comfort zone and try something that would challenge me physically and mentally.
I was just starting to redefine myself when I joined Rhapsody; Rhapsody now serves as a daily reminder for how much I have grown the past few months – of where I started and where I am now physically and mentally.
I joined Rhapsody specifically because of the community. I saw coaches who genuinely were invested in each and every one of their members and I saw members who were humble and supportive to one another regardless of skill levels. The Rhapsody community accepted me as I was on day one despite my physical limitations and minimal knowledge of CrossFit overall.
The coaches and the members met me in one of my weakest moments in life, yet they embraced me as I was and cheered me on through the weeks to come.
What have you gotten out of your experience with Rhapsody CrossFit?
My experience at Rhapsody has given me confidence and courage: confidence in myself and courage to try new things despite the risk of failure.
Before Rhapsody, I struggled with my ability to perform and succeed at new tasks immediately; if I wasn’t able to complete something successfully on the first attempt, I’d convince myself I wasn’t good enough and I’d give up.
Now, I don’t let that fear and insecurity rob me of trying a second or third (or fourth) time.
What has being a part of the Rhapsody CrossFit community meant to you?
Being a part of the Rhapsody community has meant coming to rely on a core group of people who have my best interests at heart. Being part of this community has given me the gift of friendship with a myriad of different people from various walks of life.
Being a part of Rhapsody means showing up every day and giving it my all. The Rhapsody community has done so much for me over the past few months.
Now I look for any new faces and intentionally welcome them with arms wide open and cheer them on. I want to reciprocate the acceptance and support that was extended to me all those months ago. It brings me so much joy to see people totally new to CrossFit join Rhapsody, because they remind me of me and my journey that started back in May.
Abby, you are a shining example of becoming your best self inside and outside the four walls of Rhapsody! Thank you for raising the bar among our Rhapsody community.
To get Abby’s “arms-wide-open” welcome and be a part of this wonderful community, sign up for your first class today!
“Being part of this community has given me the gift of friendship with a myriad of different people from various walks of life.”
