By Nate Servati
Let me tell you a little something about a certain jersey of mine.
A jersey is all it was at first. Now it’s a whole lot more, at least to me.
In December 2018, I bought a #1 Sooners jersey. If you’ve kept up with OU Football in recent years, there are two different quarterbacks that the number can represent because there’s no name on the back of it. I got lucky with that ONE, no pun intended.
But what I wasn’t quite so lucky to have at the time was ignorance. I was thinking that because I lost some weight as a freshman (in high school, and I was a sophomore when I bought the jersey), I could just start buying all my shirts in size medium instead of large. The jersey was the first of them all. And I found out that I made a large mistake, no pun intended again. It was, actually.
I could fit in it, just barely. I loved the jersey of course, but I either could’ve been smarter or in better shape. At least that’s the way I saw it. I wasn’t too upset or discouraged about it, but I decided to leave it in the closet for a little while.
Fast-forward to the end of my junior year (around April-June 2020), I was in what I remember to be the worst shape of my life. We all know what was going on at that time but it was no excuse for me to be how I was. I weighed in at around 260-270 pounds. It didn’t click with me how bad of a shape I was in until I joined the gym, weighed in, and saw that.
Now fast-forward to April 1, 2022, I weighed in at around 195-200 pounds. But I wanted to take it to the next level and change my life once and for all. So I started hitting two-a-days and finding the diet I could sustain for life. You won’t believe this at all, but I started off doing 4 hours of cardio PER DAY. It was no easy cardio either, it was stairs. I did that for 3 weeks all while still pumping iron.
July 27, 2022, I’m weighing in at around 175 and I’m officially done with my two-a-days. I see that jersey in my closet and I try it on again for the first time in over 3 years. It fits better than it ever had. I start thinking to myself about where I was compared to now. I never thought that I’d make it as far or accomplish as much as I have.
The jersey is more than just any old jersey. It’s the symbol of my journey. In two years, I went from being in the worst shape of my life at 270 to the best shape of my life at 175. I’m more confident than I’ve ever been because I’m now starting to realize the journey my entire life has been, not just the last 2, 3, or 4 years.
But if I look back at who I was 4 months ago, I’m not even close to the same person. All it took for me to truly find myself and my passion was challenging myself to do things I’d never even imagined doing. And the jersey is what made me think about who I used to be, way before my two-a-days, compared to now.
I’m feeling closer to success than ever because now I don’t want my journey to stop. It’s not that I need to lose any more weight, it’s always been about more than that. I want to keep becoming better in any way I can so I can inspire and help those that really need it.
It’s crazy to think that I used to look at the jersey and think that I wouldn’t make it to where I am now. Because when I look at it now, there’s a deep sense of pride in the journey. It has taught me that everything is a learning experience if you let it be. You can get where you want to if you want it bad enough to make big sacrifices and do what it takes at all costs.
I strongly encourage you to find something in your life that reminds you to embrace the journey and stay believing in it, even when the going gets rough.