DieBruderschaft.com

Jen Bricker was born without legs due to a genetic defect and abandoned at birth by her biological parents. She was taken in by her adoptive parents and proceeded to have a relatively normal childhood. And like many young girls of the 1990s, she grew up loving gymnastics and idolizing Dominique Moceanu.Bricker, 28, watched her idol win gold with the Magnificent Seven during the 1996 Olympics. She was proud that Moceanu also had Romanian-American heritage and a small stature. Despite her physical limitations, Bricker went on to build her own successful gymnastics career.Then, in 2003, Bricker discovered that her hero was actually her biological sister.Bricker spent four years attempting to meet Moceanu, and they kept their story quiet for four more years. With their other sister, Christina, they went public with their shocking discovery in 2012.While that was -- and remains -- a huge part of Brickers life and identity, its not all she is. Bricker hopes to share her full story in her new book, Everything is Possible: Finding the Faith & Courage to Follow Your Dreams, co-written with Sheryl Berk and released this week.Up until this point, publicly and in the media, people have only known my story or me as an aerialist or as a tumbler, thats really all people know about me, Bricker said by phone from her Los Angeles home. So whats exciting is this book is my heart; its me. Thats never really been shown before, and not even a little bit. Thats what Im really excited about -- to show people my heart, and not just my story.***Raised in Illinois alongside three older brothers by two loving parents, Bricker grew up with the belief that everything was possible. Even though she did not have legs, her family encouraged her to try gymnastics when she expressed interest as a young girl captivated by Moceanu. She almost immediately showed promise in the sport and worked her way through the youth ranks.Because of her impressive athleticism and positive attitude, Bricker began achieving local, national and even global fame, appearing on the Maury Show as a fifth-grader and on a German television program a year later. At the time, she knew she was destined to help inspire others. Even at a young age, she knew a book was in her future.Ive known since I was really young that I would someday write a book, although I thought it was something I would do when I was old and had gray hair, she said. But I knew two years ago, this was the right time for the book. The time is now. And this is exactly what Im supposed to be doing right now.The local tumbling gym became a second home for Bricker as a child, and she competed against able-bodied gymnasts around the area. She refused to have any special treatment and wanted to be judged the same as her peers. While she said she occasionally got stares from opponents and their parents, she quickly proved she was just as good, if not better, than her competition. Her talent and hard work earned her a fourth-place finish at the AAU Junior Olympics in power tumbling as an 11-year-old and a state title as a high school student, among many other titles and awards.After graduating from high school, Bricker was attending a local community college when she saw a sign on campus for the college program at Walt Disney World. She instantly jumped at the chance and was accepted. She moved to Orlando to start her job in park operations. She loved the experience and living independently for the first time in her life. She never doubted her ability to succeed in whatever she chose to do, in large part because of her parents and the confidence they instilled in her.They allowed me to be who Im meant to be, Bricker said. That may seem like a simple thing, but I can see how that would be very difficult. They allowed me to be who I am and who Im meant to be, and not who they wanted me to be. They allowed me to have my own mind, so I would be confident in making my own decisions, and that carried over 100 percent into being an adult and making big decisions.After becoming obsessed with The Lion King show at Disneys Animal Kingdom, Bricker met performer Nate Crawford through a friend. He was instantly intrigued by the idea of developing a show for the two of them and encouraged Bricker to try aerial acrobatics and trampoline. Despite not having tumbled in a few years, Bricker quickly returned to her peak athletic form and learned to love her new disciplines. The duo choreographed an act on the trampoline and had their first performance at the Amway Center in Orlando during the 2008 Mascot Games.Shortly after, the two had to put the show on hiatus as Crawford was cast on Britney Spears Circus tour. It wasnt long before the then-22-year-old Bricker impressed Spears shows producers and they added her to the North American and Australian stints. Appearing in 40 shows, Bricker called it an amazing and crazy time of her life. She also considers it her big break and credits it for opening many doors in the industry that had previously been closed.While her professional life was thriving, she was hiding a big secret in her personal life. Brickers parents showed her the adoption documentation when she was 16, revealing the astounding discovery about Moceanu.It was an absolutely mind-blowing moment, she said. I thought, How can this be real? It was crazy. But then I thought it kind of made sense. We do look alike, we are both Romanian, there are all these things we have in common.After exhaustively searching for Moceanu and figuring out how to reach her, Bricker finally tracked her down in 2007 and wrote her a heartfelt letter. A few weeks later, she received flowers and a personalized Christmas card in return. While it would take several months for the three sisters to meet, they corresponded in the interim and finally got together in May 2008.Their relationship remains a work in progress as they continue to make up for lost time. The three all live in different states, and Dominique and Christina both are married with young children, so its not always easy to get together. They try whenever the opportunity arises.Despite the physical and emotional distances between the sisters, their similarities are unmistakable. When Brickers brothers met her new sisters, they were astonished by the likeness.My brothers were totally tripping out, she said. They were just like Wait, you sound like Jen, and you look like Jen, and you move your hands like Jen! They were just freaking out, but then they just realized they had two more sisters to give a hard time to.Once the sisters revealed their story, Bricker was relieved they no longer had to keep it a secret -- and she was happy she could finally post a picture of herself with her siblings on Facebook.It was so tough to finally have met them and have had such a celebratory moment and not being able to share it with so many people in my life, Bricker said.Now, Bricker plans to further leave her mark on the world. She wants to one day land a sportswear or makeup ad campaign (It could flip the beauty industry upside down!) and eventually get married and have a family -- with both biological and adopted children.In the meantime, she continues to build her relationship with her sisters, and might even begin work on another book soon. Ultimately, she just wants to inspire others with her powerful story of perseverance, positivity and cant-stop-me attitude. She hopes her message will help anyone, regardless of physical limitations or otherwise.Everyone has gifts and talents and abilities, there is equal power in that, she said. One is not more important than the other. With that equal significance, what someone brings to the table is equal and has equal power to change someones life.Their story may look different than my story, but it might have the same power to change someones life out there. Air Max 90 Uomo Scontate .Y. -- Buffalo Bills coach Doug Marrone has drawn on his Syracuse connections once again by hiring Rob Moore to take over as receivers coach. Vapormax Flyknit Scontate .com) - The red-hot Los Angeles Kings will try to extend their winning streak to a season-high seven games when they visit the Edmonton Oilers for Sundays clash at Rexall Place. http://www.airmaxscarpescontate.it/scarpe-air-max-90-prezzo-basso/max-90-donna-saldi.html . Andrew Luck lost his favourite target and the Indianapolis locker room lost one of its most revered leaders when Reggie Wayne was diagnosed Monday with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee that will cost him the rest of the season. Air Max 90 Uomo Saldi . -- There were so many positives from the Orlando Magics first victory of the season that it was hard for coach Jacque Vaughn to stop praising his players. Nike Air Max 270 Scontate . The 27-year-old Scrivens will be joining his third NHL club since signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs as a free agent in 2010. The move also reunites with him with head coach Dallas Eakins from their time together with the American Hockey Leagues Toronto Marlies. BUFFALO, New York -- Before Harrison Browne could walk, he could skate.Last season the 23-year-old forward nicknamed Brownie helped his pro hockey team in Buffalo to the championship series, and with the season opener Friday, Buffalo aims for more than just a shot at a title in 2016-17.Its the first game against the team that beat us in the finals last year, Browne said. Its going to be a really good test.It is a reset for Buffalo -- but for Browne, it is a historic, new chapter. Browne, a rising star on the Buffalo Beauts of the National Womens Hockey League, is the first openly transgender player in?American professional team sports.I identify as a man, Browne said in an interview in New York City, before catching a flight to make practice in western New York. My family is starting to come to grips with it, now its my time to be known as who I am, to be authentic and to hear my name said right when I get a point, or see my name on a website.Browne, a former junior circuit player from Canada, was recruited by the University of Maine to play Division I hockey on scholarship, and graduated in 2014.It was at Maine where Browne first identified himself privately to coaches as transgender -- a step that he credits today with improving his game.On the ice, when I put that equipment on, Im a hockey player. I dont think about who Im playing with, I dont think Im playing with women. I dont think Im in the wrong body, he said.Off the ice, I felt more comfortable having my friends call me what I wanted to be called, referring to me with the pronounns that I wanted.dddddddddddd. If anything, my product on the ice was let loose and I could be myself.The plan was to medically transition after college -- but the creation of the NWHL in the spring of his senior year led to a decision to put off the transition. Browne acknowledges he is in limbo as a transgender man on a womens team but you have to be your authentic self to be happy ... hockey makes me extremely happy.NWHL commissioner Dani Rylan said the league is now working on a policy that will include transgender athletes, and that the womens league is accepting of a transgender man on a team roster.At the end of the day, Harrison is the same player he was last year, Rylan said. Were here to support him. Its really not a big deal when you look at it, were respecting his name, the pronouns and his request to be his authentic self.Support has been a major thread of our team unity and success, Beauts GM Ric Seiling said. And that goes beyond the rink.Browne has decided to postpone a medical transition until hes done playing in the NWHL, and hes not changing his legal name right now for visa reasons. Browne says he is not closing the door to transitioning to the mens side of the sport one day depending on how his body changes.Im still the same player, Im still playing in the body that I did last year, Im still the same exact person. Im just a different name and different pronouns, thats it. Im still Brownie. ' ' '