I walked onto the deck of the pool beginning my first year on the high school swim team like it was any other usual club season. I expected to go to swim every day, go to meets twice a week and only work to get faster. It ended up being so much more than that. While I did better my swimming techniques and did get faster, I found a love for swimming as a sport rather than doing it for exercise. My newly formed love made going to practice worth it. 

I developed deep connections with both my teammates and my coaches, going through many early-morning practices and tough losses; it made us stronger together. I even ended up making the switch from being a sprinter to being a distance swimmer towards the middle of the season through the help and support of my upperclassmen and coaches, who got me to being top 16 at sectionals in all of my events. Being on the team made me see the value in communication and teamwork, as well as gotten me to be better at routines and procedures; all good for education.

As a swimmer, I also found an interest in the science behind exercise and how it all works. I wanted to know more about how our practices were made to better fit the events we do at meets; whether that be for sprinting, distance or medley. The work needed to become faster, how to fix technique, and how taper works, all intrigued me. My interest in this, thanks to my former head coach, even led me to enrolling in our high school’s new exercise science class this coming year. 

Having completed two seasons as of now, I will be honest to say it wasn’t all easy, but I’m grateful for everything I have learned and gained along the way. The skills I have developed have helped me greatly in school and have prepared me for life after high school. But now with my friends I have gained from the team graduating, I have realized that I am also going to be graduating soon, and to never take my life as a high school student for granted.