1988 in Lake Charles, Louisiana. After that my father's career took us around the world. First to Nigeria, back to Texas, and then to Dubai, UAE. We resided there for the following 11 years before I graduated high school. During our time there I got to travel most of the Middle East, Parts of Africa, Europe, and a lot of Asia. I moved to a small town in the Texas Hill Country to pursue a degree in Psychology. I ended up graduating 5 years late with a dual degree in Psychology and Business Administration. After graduation I moved to Houston with my then boyfriend. We got engaged a few short week later.

one year and a few days after we got engaged. We were married in Downtown Houston at the amazing Majestic Metro which is an old renovated theatre and incredibly popular! We had an absolute blast of a party and stayed up incredibly late continuing to celebrate with friends and family at a nearby bar. We left for our Honeymoon the next day. We had a great few days staying a condo near Port Aransas. Afterward we made our move to Round Rock, TX for a few year before coming back to Houston, TX.

we are living just outside of Houston. I work full time as an ESL Specialist and Instructional Coach and my husband is in Human Resources. We recently had our first child together and are having a fun and tiring time navigating our life with our little one. You can find out more about my pregnancy, brith, and all other things mommin' here.

When I first coined the handle "Samantha Get Strong" on instagram it was just to mark me new found love for weightlifting. I wanted to get strong so is was a very obvious choice. Later on -insert cheesy voice- I learned that weightlifting wasn't all brute strength it took a lot mental and emotional strength as well. Weightlifting also helped me manage my anxiety and depression. I was a new public school teacher and ended most of my days overwhelmed and overly exhausted both mentally and emotionally. So I learned and now try to encourage the idea that strength truly does come from within. Strength is not just physical, but is emotional and mental as well.