The smell of chlorine and the sound of coaches yelling at you to stop breathing. To an average person that sounds like absolute torture, but that’s the environment I’ve been around for pretty much my whole life. My career as a swimmer started at age 4 when my parents signed me up for swim classes, as my siblings have done previously. Swimming hasn’t always come easy to me. I have a memory of me barely being able to move during breaststroke and my coach having to pull me with a pool noodle since everyone else was waiting for what may have seemed like an eternity. It may seem like an overused phrase, but practice (really does) make perfect. From barely being able to move in breaststroke to it being my main event at meets, the proof is in the progress.

Progress isn’t linear though, during the peak of the pandemic I wasn’t able to swim due to almost all pools being closed. Having been away from the pool for over a year, I realized I missed having swimming in my routine and decided to continue swimming as a student-athlete in college. Starting back up was rough, one of my old coaches used to say missing a day of swimming was like missing a week of practice for any other sport, so you can imagine how difficult it was to get back into it. I’ve definitely struggled pushing myself to continue the sport and continue to but, I would like to end my swim career on a high note.