Cedars, December 2019

December 2019 16 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Marlee Maynard: Fitness, Food, Faith by Shelby McGuire I f you search for @marleehope_ on Instagram, you’ll find the vibrant social media presence of a fit girl with a bright smile influencing over 4,000 followers by shar- ing her world of faith, fitness, friends and food. Marlee Maynard, a junior Organizational Communi- cation major, is doing just what her bio says: “encouraging gals to pursue their purpose in all spheres of life” through her reach on social media. In the past few years, she has used her Instagram account to build an online community to positively influence others and develop meaningful con- nections both personally and professionally. After her freshman year at Cedarville, she took on a new challenge by accepting a position as a programming intern for the iBELIEVE foundation in Columbus. Instead of spending her summer at home in Racine, Ohio, this op- portunity allowed her to move into her own apartment for a few months. During this time of living on her own, she became ac- tive on social media as a way to stay connected to friends and family. She wanted to share her experience in this excit- ing phase of her life, so she started posting about the things that mattered to her in her day-to-day life. Many of her posts and stories were about her personal workouts and nutrition — which had become an important part of her life in the last year. Soon, other girls following her page started to take note of her knowledge of health and fitness. These girls started reaching out to Maynard asking her questions about what she was doing to achieve her fitness goals. As these questions and comments came more fre- quently, Maynard began to realize the purposeful impact she could have through this platform on other girls as they navigate their own journeys of health and fitness as well as other aspects of life. That summer in Columbus, she saw that her Instagram gave her an avenue and a voice to share this passion with others in a way that could help them overcome their own struggles. Maynard has been exposed to an active and healthy lifestyle by her family since she was a child. Both of her par- ents have an athletic background, and they continued to in- still the importance of activity and balanced nutrition into Maynard and her sister. She participated in dance and sports growing up, and in high school, she began to take ownership of her own health-conscious habits and took on a new outlet learning to lift weights in the gym with her sister. When she started college, fitness took on a whole new role in her life. With the stress of classes and assignments, she found the gym as an escape and release from the con- stant pressure. Working out became an important form of therapy in her life. She fell in love with the way working out gave her an outlet to challenge and improve herself. Another aspect of her life that Maynard was inspired to share with others was nutrition after her first year of college. “I saw so many girls around me have bad relationships with food with either binging or restricting, and I just want- ed to share with people that that’s not the way it has to be,” she said. She seeks to encourage others that “food is fuel” for ac- tivities, and it’s also a blessing to enjoy. Maynard describes herself as a “foodie” and says that she enjoys trying new things and thinking about her nutrition as a game and a challenge. She loves to experiment with creative food com- binations that give her the right amounts of carbs, proteins and fats to fuel her body. On her page, she shares her variety of meals that she puts together to fit her personal macro- nutrient needs. She also shares things like creative coffee orders, including the nutritional information. In the areas of fitness and nutrition, Maynard says that her goal is to promote a balanced healthy lifestyle. She shares how movement is critical for health and food is fuel for the body. She shares her personal journey of tracking macronutrients and body-building style workouts, but she encourages others to make their own healthy choices that work for them and fit into their lifestyle. Maynard’s passion for fitness is a manifestation of her faith, another aspect of her life that she enjoys sharing. She compares building muscles in the gym to growing personal faith in God. ‘You don’t know how strong you are until you do it,” she said. “It’s like faith. You don’t know how faithful God is to you until you let him work in your life.” Maynard describes her community of over 4,000 Ins- tagram followers as a positive space fostering conversations among girls about the things that are important to them. She not only uses her Instagram to share her faith, fit- ness, friends and food journey, but she also has been able to make professional connections and partnerships through the platform with companies that align with her values. JustFab, an online shoe company, reached out to May- nard to promote their products and give honest reviews. She has also had the opportunity to work with LRX, a faith- based fitness apparel company, to do giveaways and photo- shoots of their products. Maynard said she plans to complete her bachelor’s de- gree at Cedarville and then go wherever the Lord leads her after this stage of life. She also said that she would love to continue to invest in her social media accounts to share her passions with others through anything from starting a small business plan or creating a personal development program. Shelby McGuire is a junior Professional Writing & Infor- mation Design major and Arts & Entertainment News Co-editor for Cedars. She enjoys working out as well as feeding her caffeine addiction pretending that she has her life together. Photo by Monica Ebbing Marlee Maynard is a fitness and food enthusiast and enjoys using her passions to connect with others