I walked around the front desk of 24 Hour Fitness and made my way toward the back exercise room where my spin class would take place in approximately 12 minutes.

Two summers ago I attended one spin class with a friend and I was dripping with sweat by the end of it and was sore for three days. So I was a just a little nervous to open the door of that back, dimly-lit room and find about 30 stationary bicycles facing the front of the room.

As I placed my water bottle and phone in the cupholders in front of one of the bikes, other people flowed in one-by-one. That is, except for the two sorority girls (they both had on Tri Delta T-shirts) who came in basically arm-in-arm. I began to wonder why I didn’t bring a friend with me because trying to figure out how to adjust the bicycle seat with 15 people staring at me would have been a lot less awkward with a friend to laugh about it by my side.

I readjusted the seat’s height three times before giving up and settling myself onto the bike as I waited for the instructor to come in.

A blond woman entered at 6:30 on the dot. She pushed a button on the large black stereo and the music began. After climbing onto her elevated bike, she welcomed us to the class and instructed us to start pedaling.

The music grew louder and faster, making me feel obligated to pedal with the beat. It hadn’t even been 30 minutes before I started to breathe heavily and sweat began to drip onto my legs cycling beneath me. My hamstrings burned and my calves felt like Jell-O. I looked to my right and saw the middle-aged woman struggling to keep her legs moving. To my left, one of the sorority girls wiped the sweat from her forehead with her towel. I reached for my water bottle, took a drink and tried to breathe evenly.

This better end soon. My legs hurt too much to go on much longer.

Noticing that the class was struggling, the instructor turned the music down a few notches.

“Many of you may know of my friend, Kristy, who comes to this class every week,” The instructor said. “She’s 20-something years old, a double amputee and comes to 24 Hour Fitness to work. If she can finish this class, you can too.”

She then went on to explain that Kristy wasn’t there that day because she had a snowboarding competition that weekend. I was shocked. She’s a double amputee, but obviously that has not held her back. And according to the instructor, she was born in a different country, was abandoned as a baby and moved to America as a teenager.

Okay, wow. If that is not inspiring, I don’t know what is. With Kristy’s story in my head, I decided to focus on the whole “mind over body” advice that Cross Country Coach Reynold Middleton always told the team before races. I have both my legs, I can do this. I still live with my parents. I’ve never had to make such a dramatic move as Kristy did to ensure I have a better life.

And yet, while I was “suffering” through the first 30 minutes of that spin class, I kept thinking about how much pain I was in and wondering how much longer I could go. Once the instructor told us about Kristy, I used that story and the beat of the music as motivation to fight through the pain in my legs made of Jell-O.

When the class finally ended, I dismounted the bike and walked out the door into the winter air and all I could think about was Kristy. I wondered how someone who has been through that much could do as much as she has.

As soon as I got home, I told my dad about Kristy’s story. He had the same reaction I did, but it immediately reminded him of two people with similar stories.

Stephen Palermo, a former umpire in Major League Baseball, was paralyzed in 1991 after being shot during an altercation at an Italian restaurant. Palermo was defending two women being mugged in the parking lot, according to foxsports.com. The doctors said he would never walk again.

Today, he walks with the help of a cane and leg brace. He has been credited as one of the top umpires of Major League Baseball. Although he no longer umpires, he works as an umpire supervisor for Major League Baseball. And when he’s not doing that, he travels across the country to share his story.

My dad also told me the story of his business associate’s family friend, Jeremy Poincenot. Poincenot went almost completely blind as a teenager, but he wanted to continue playing golf as he had for much of his life. Because he could not see, Poincenot’s dad helped him line up at the tee and told him the direction of the hole. According to his father, Poincenot’s accuracy was astounding. He went on to become the 2010 World Blind Golf Champion and the 2011 San Diego Challenged Athlete of the Year. Similar to Palermo, Poincenot now travels around the country to share his story.

Throughout my life, I’ve had occasional reminders to be grateful for what I have and the opportunities I’ve been given. But these stories have made the list of top five most influential. Yes, I have my everyday struggles and difficulties, but if these strong, determined people can make it day-to-day with their own challenges much larger than mine, I can make it through another spin class without quitting.