#Repost @crossfitgames with @get_repost ・・・ Meet @emma_lile. _ Lile will be a guest at today's #TeamSeries18 live, on #TeamBoz with her coach, @coach_chase_cfl2. - Lile had scoliosis as a child. The surgical interventions she underwent to straighten her spine at age 15 involved spinal fusion and the addition of two rods and 23 screws. - "The surgery gave me the ability to be different and still break barriers in life," she said. "It gave me purpose." - While growing up, she decided she wanted to become strong and play sports again. She took up powerlifting (recent 345-lb. deadlift, third slide), but as she started to gain muscle and experience bodily changes, she also started to get shamed and bullied. She recalls being called manly and disgusting. - Despite the adversity, she continued on her path because she wanted to be a role model for her younger sister. She wanted to show her sister that it's possible to topple societal expectations and be whoever you want to be. - "I don’t understand why there is a standard for girls or guys of what we have to look like or enjoy," she said. "When I’m told I look manly, it doesn’t sting as much anymore. It just makes me want to share my story. Somewhere out there, there’s a little girl that wants to play football or a boy that wants to have pink hair. I say do it. Break the box that society has you in and just be happy. What we choose to make us happy should solely be up to us and not a stereotype." - She hopes to be a source of encouragement and positive example to young women and others seeking to get up when they've been knocked down by life. - "No matter what’s going on inside, you have the ability to impact others with your struggles and how you work around them. Use that to your advantage," she said. - She found #CrossFit after losing her best friend, a cousin named Andrew, to cancer two years ago. - "It gave me a burning passion to wake up and live the life I have always dreamed of, because tomorrow might be too late," she explained. "@crossfitfif gave me the power to be my best self every single day. I walk into the gym, and I break myself down each day to rebuild into a better human being. I love breaking the ster https://www.instagram.com/p/BoQMEY4g-cH/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1cley0olsdjck