FormerlyMe is an online movement to motivate and inspire people to become the best version of themselves by showing them my journey and experience in trying a new workout and lifestyle regime every 30 days. Every post, update, and video is ‘formerly me’ as I endeavor to become the best version of myself and become FormerlyMe. Each month CP Magazine will showcase a part of my journey to becoming the best version of myself. I hope that in turn this inspires and motivates you to start your own journey as well. For this month’s story we will focus on the “On The Go: Gatorland” days of my journey.
I had long wanted to wrestle some large animal. Every since I was a kid I always was fascinated by the idea of fighting large beasts. I never imagined I would ever get close enough to a real alligator, much less sit on one. Yet here I am flying to Orlando, Florida to visit the Alligator Capital of the World, Gatorland.
Some interesting facts about alligators are they can’t survive in salt water, their eyes glow in the dark, can run up to 35 miles per hour, and they go through over 3000 teeth in their lifetime! The largest alligators reach over 1000 pounds! These reptiles are definitely fearsome and Florida is the spot to see them.
I got to learn a lot about these reptiles. I was surprised to learn they sometimes eat fruit and often their own young baby alligators (yikes!). Here at Gatorland there are hundreds of gators. The below pic is just one of many areas with hundreds of gators of various age ranges.
After touring the grounds, I was able to get up close and personal with a gator and take a photo. Just to be clear, gators are dangerous animals. The mouth was taped and there were handlers on both edges of the photo so I was never in any real danger. Just DO NOT try this at home.
I had a wonderful experience learning about these ancient reptiles and made a memory that will last me a lifetime. Going here helped me push myself beyond my comfort zone. I feel we all should try some things that scare us yet are relatively safe. Things such as skydiving for example. As Will Smith coined in his YouTube video of his Skydive in Dubai, “The best things in life are on the other side of fear”.
Follow my journey online at FormerlyMe.com and on the YouTube channel. Next month I will cover my more unique experiences I had in 2021-2022. Until next time that has been FormerlyMe!
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