A Start; A Dive

I was quite the hyper-active kid. My parents enrolled me for almost every single sport. I tried a bunch of different sports, but something clicked with swimming and athletics and so I decided to pursue both competitively. Balancing both worked for about a year but after a while my swimming coach spoke to me about choosing one. I was conflicted.

At first, I preferred athletics because it was easier, but over time I realized that being in the water is like being in my natural habitat and the choice became obvious. The more I practiced, the more I felt like my choice was reinforced. I loved the exhaustion that I felt after a hard workout. The muscle aches became a daily part of my life. The physiotherapist became my new best friend. People wondered why I stuck to this strenuous lifestyle, but, I wouldn’t honestly have it any other way.

There were times I hated waking up early and saying no to nights out with my friends got hard. But nothing was harder than the feeling of guilt and discomfort that came with missing a swimming session. Even if going out with my friends was fun in the moment, I would wake up the next morning feeling lazy, demotivated and ironically even tired.

Swimming practice clearly became the norm for me. I went from dreading early mornings to looking forward to starting my day with diving. Making plans with school friends became hard, but over time my teammates became my family. My nutrition, diet, workout routine and social life became centered around my swimming practice. My coaches challenged me every single day and it was the will to keep learning that kept me going.

Just like most other athletes, my swimming career had had its ups and downs, but it came with a life time’s worth of lessons and memories. In my experience the biggest takeaway is to push through the tough times and believe you have what it takes to be better.