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Joined Swim Florida
The first week of swimming was like nothing I'd ever done before. I came home after practice every day feeling like I'd been run over by a truck. My body had to adjust to the length and intensity of the practices. While I was ready to give up after the first try, I decided to endure the pain and continue. It was through confronting a difficult challenge and working through it that I learned not all things I will come to face will be easy but I will have to find some way to deal with them. -
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Swimming Competitively
Swimming Competitively has taught me an endless amount of life lessons. From being pushed by my coaches or motivating myself I've learned the importance of hard work, discipline, and dedication. My work ethic and drive for success has helped in me in swim, school, work, and even among friends. Swimming has played a crucial element in making me who I am today. -
Begin Swimming in High School
Beginning high school is a difficult transition for everyone. However, being part of a team allowed me to meet new people and make friends faster than some other freshmen. The same people I saw every morning and every afternoon for practice became the people I called "friends." I learned the importance of having friends and being a friend when problems arose and somoene needed to be there for one another. Having swim in common with other people allowed so many friendships to blossom. -
1st Swim Meet
As my first meet drew near I remember feeling pretty nervous; but, I chose to stop worrying and instead look forward to and appreciate the opportunity. The positive mindset made the experience so much fun. While practice was a time to work hard and train, I learned that swim meets were a time to see how I've improved but also enjoy the people I was with. When it came to school, work, and just being at home I remembered how important it is to simply seize and enjoy every life moment. -
First High School Swim Meet
In my first BV meet I had to swim the 200 IM, a mix of all four strokes, something I didn't feel comfortable doing. I practiced the turns for each stroke before the meet. When my event came I dove in and swam fly, then back, but as I pushed off the wall for breaststroke I realized I wasnt supposed to flip. I turned back to see my coach's nervous face knowing I messed up. Luckily it wasn't a huge meet so I wasn't disqualified; but, I did learn that mistakes need to be learned from. -
Get under one minute in my 100 yard freestyle at Catholic States
Swim meets were a way I could see how much progress I'd made in certain events. For a long time I swam my 100 freestyle around 1:01 to 1:00 but always yearned for the 0:59 or under. Catholic States, a big meet in Orlando, was the meet I was determined to reach my goal. I got on the block, dove in, kicked as fast as I could, pulled with all my strength and before I knew it the clock read 59.88. I was ecstatic learning that hard work really does pay off. Success only came after I trained for it. -
Girls Swim Team wins 1st place at Lake Placid
While I always thought of swimming as an individual's sport, the team effort shown at the Lake Placid meet proved me wrong. Relays were the closest I ever related swimming to a team sport because in if one person didn't try, the whole relay went down. But even though I swam my individual events by myself, each of my races, as well as those of every other team member, added up to our final score. The success together as a team taught me to work well with other people and to try my best. -
2013 Regionals Swim Meet
Sophomore year at Regionals I swam with high expectations. I prepared myself and felt fast but my times didn't drop as much as I hoped. As I got out of the pool and headed back to the team I started pitying myself. Coming up to my friend in tears I learned that she gained several seconds in both of her events. While I was feeling bad for myself I had not thought about her. I then realized that no matter how bad I think I have it someone else has it worst. Always be thankful. -
Qualify for State Championships Swim Meet
Every year I longed to make it to States, but I knew I wasn't fast enough. I never truly expected to go farther than Regionals. However, junior year I got a boost of confidence. Before my race my coach said, "If you swim as fast as I've seen you before I have no doubt you'll make it to States." Surprised in the faith my coach had in me I started to believe him and hoped he was right. I swam faster than ever before, a time of 55.1. This helped me learn that no matter what believe in yourself.
