A Fighter—Redefined

November 11, 2025

Today, in the middle of an intense training session, my trainer looked at me and said,

“I’m training you like a fighter, Katherine. You’re going to be strong like a fighter.”

Between breaths, I replied,

“I’m strong like a fighter on the inside.”

He nodded.

“Yes, you are. And you’re strong like a fighter on the outside, too. Don’t forget that.”

That landed.

Because he’s right.

I never saw myself as a fighter until a few years ago.

In my head, fighting was bad —

a ridiculous way to handle disagreements,

a poor outlet for anger.

But I’ve learned that being a fighter doesn’t mean being in a ring or an alley with an opponent.

It means facing yourself, your circumstances, and sometimes even the Universe —

and choosing, again and again, to rise.

Being a fighter also means knowing when to rest —

to allow my body, mind, and spirit to heal, restore, and rebuild.

Broken bones don’t heal overnight,

and neither do broken spirits, broken identities, or broken hearts.

I know my inner strength — the kind forged through abandonment, heartbreak, loss, and reinvention.

The kind that keeps showing up even when it’s tired,

that refuses to be hardened by pain or bitterness.

My inner fighter is disciplined in endurance, fluent in recovery, relentless in hope.

And my body — this body I have neglected for much of the year — is still strong like a fighter.

Even when she’s tired.

Even when she’s softer, slower, less practiced.

She always remembers.

My heart, my lungs, my muscles —

they’re like a pro athlete recovering from injury,

refusing to let what happened dictate what comes next.

Healing, rebuilding, hungry for the chance to rise again.

I am a fighter.

Unwilling to be beaten down by life,

unwilling to let the scars make me cold.

I turn pain into wisdom.

Each knock down teaches me something new —

how to move, how to guard, how to rise again with more grace and power than before.

And I will keep showing up,

strong on the inside, strong on the outside,

fighting not against life,

but for it.