Please reconsider
Dear Superintendent Vietzke,
I felt compelled to write a letter after reading that November Project DC would not be allowed to run the Lincoln Memorial Stairs. I read many of my friend’s letters, and I couldn’t fight back my tears. Who am I kidding I am crying now. I just wanted to let you know why I get emotional thinking about not being able to run the stairs again. I’m a little different from my friends. I grew up here. I visited all the tourist stops on field trips. I took advantage of having all of that right at your fingertips. November Project allowed me to remember how beautiful our city is when it is quiet. Whenever I attend the stair workout I say good morning to Abe and take a picture of Washington Monument and I think how lucky I am to see this view.
I attended my very first workout with November Project DC on January 15, 2014. The previous few months one of my friends had been going to the Wednesday workout and trying to recruit as many friends as she could to come and try this new workout. I was convinced she was insane, it was 6:30 in the morning running up and down stairs. (At that time there were only 2 options to work out 0530 or 0630 at the Lincoln Memorial. That’s it.) That sounded horrible. Well right before Thanksgiving I was laid off. When January rolled around I still wasn’t working and the reality set in……..I’m not working…….I need to stop spending money. I needed to cancel my gym membership and explore new and FREE opportunities. That didn’t stop any of the anxiety I had about attending the first workout.
A little background about why it scared me. When I was in my 20’s I had a brain bleed. Think aneurysm. I had something called a ruptured brain AVM (anteriorvenous malformation). I had to learn how to walk and talk again. I spent many months in physical and speech therapy. I was told I would never walk without a walking device (cane or walker). Well at the end of therapy I was walking and talking. I still hate the way I talk and because of the brain damage my balance and depth perception are really bad (I’m making a really long story short).
Back to January 2014 and all the anxiety. Would I be able to do this without falling, would the other people judge me, would they wonder what was wrong with me? I went and my heart was pounding. And none of that happened. I got hugs and encouragement. Encouragement from people that had no idea how hard it is for me to run the stairs, or that I can’t even walk a straight line. I haven’t turned back since that day. About a month after that I did get a job and I had to figure out how I was going to make going to November Project work with my schedule because going and getting hugs can be the best part of my day.
I still can’t walk a straight line and I still can’t run down the stairs but I have way more confidence knowing that I opened myself up to trying this and I have gotten stronger.
Superintendent Vietzke, this is adult PE, instead of hating it like we did in school I love it. I have laughed so uncontrollably and I wouldn’t take any of it back.
I hope you give it a try one day and meet us for a workout.
Sincerely
Janeen Porche