“I think I’ve made about a hundredvideos, even though I’ve onlyshared three. It’s funny becauseI would usually describe myselfas more introverted, and wouldprobably never have thought ofdancing in front of people. Butnow, TikTok has given me theconfidence to think I could takeon Megan Thee Stallion and herknees in a dance battle. Home iswhere you feel the freedom to beyour most quirky. Your bedroombecomes your own little universe,and in it, you’re the best dancerin the world. Who knows, maybeI’ll take some of this new-foundconfidence with me to the dancefloor when this lockdown ends.Alexa, play Savage by Megan TheeStallion!”As the days go by, the realisationthat life is full of setback seemsto become clearer and clearer.Desirée, however, is no stranger tosetbacks. After years of extensivetraining, Desirée learned that shehad developed two cysts behindher knees, and for a while hadto compete whilst managing thegrowing pain and discomfort theycaused her. In October of 2019, sheunderwent surgery for the secondtime in her professional career,and remarkly, she never let it stopher. Every time she went down,she returned with an agenda andthe determination to bounce backeven stronger.“In my sport, your career usuallywon’t last very long anyway, and sothe worst thing I could do is walkaway early with feelings of regret.I know I need to work as hard asI can with the years I have left.Having clear goals definitely helps.At the end of the day, I know whatmy one, major goal is, but I thinkhaving lots of short-term goalsencourages me keep working hardsince it’s easier to see the shorttermfinish line, which is ultimatelya stepping stone towards achievingmy main goal.”Still, it can be difficult to staymotivated, given everything that’sgoing on, and picking yourselfup on your lowest days seemsharder than it’s ever been. So howdoes Desirée stay motivated tokeep up with her usual routine?Well, it turns out that her simpleand efficacious solution to selfisolationlaziness is to set one goalfor herself per day.“I think people are putting toomuch pressure on themselves. Youdon’t have to come out of isolationhaving a perfect summer body, acompletely redecorated house andthe miraculous ability to speak tenlanguages. Your daily goal couldbe a 20-minute YouTube workout,or even something as little asmaking sure you take a shower.It’s really about finding things tooccupy and stimulate your mind.Also, remember that fitness canbe fun too. It doesn’t always haveto be squats and push-ups. Thereare ways to burn calories thatdon’t involve torturing yourself.Dancing, for example, is a greatform of cardio. As a professionalathlete, training is a part of myeveryday routine, but outsideof that, writing seems to be ahelpful outlet. Plus I’m currentlywatching shows like Ozark andLove Is Blind on Netflix, whichgive me the chance to just switchoff completely from sport andfocus on something else. I’mreally enjoying that balance at themoment.”Whether it’s the importance ofsetting goals for yourself, findingthe right balance or seeing thebrighter side of darker days, thereare a lot of lessons we can learnfrom Desirée Henry. Although it’snot entirely clear what the futureholds for us, there’s no doubt we’llbe seeing lots more of her in theyears to come, and I, for one, can’twait to see what she does next.66 GLAM AFRICA · MAY 2020
“The worst thing I could do is walkaway early with feelings of regret. Iknow I need to work as hard as I canwith the years I have left”MAY 2020 · GLAM AFRICA67