I have never been to a gym.

That is, I had not until today. I am (almost) 19 years old, I've lived my whole life in one of the fitness capitals of the world, and I'm a proud vegetarian, but I had never participated in an honest-to-goodness "work out" until today. That is not because I'm lazy, uninterested in fitness, or even abnormally adverse to sweaty people...quite the opposite, actually, I've been an extremely active person since I was little. The only difference between me and the gym rats, then, is the fact that they use weights, treadmills, and ellipticals whereas I have spent my lifetime of fitness using only a sprung floor and a wooden ballet bar. Dancing has served me extremely well; I'm healthy, happy, and pretty strong for a small girl, but thats not the only reason I've stayed in the studio.
Truth be told, I have been scared to death of the gym.
I can't tell a rep from a set or a BMI from an RPM, not to mention all those machines and contraptions.... One for your inner thighs, one for your outer thighs, one for your biceps, one for your triceps, one for your upper back and one for your lower back, one for your lats, abs, delts, pecs, quads, calves, this muscle, that muscle....ho.ly.crap.! Yeah, it freaked me out. Not only did I have no idea which machine to choose or how to use it, but I was scared to death that the jocks and regulars would immediately make me for a "newb."
So, when I hurt my back a bit in dance practice the other day and the trainer recommended a regimen of light weight training and cardio, I realized I had to suck it up and hit the gym. Lucky for me, Ratna, one of my friends in the hall, goes to the gym pretty much every day and offered to show me the ropes (Proof of how much I needed the help, I was literally about to leave my room wearing flip-flops with my dance shoes in hand). She set me up on a stationary bike and later with some machines in the weight room. And, truth be told, I actually had a good time! I guess those endorphins are there for a reason, because I'm going back tomorrow!