Dive in

By Amanda Garcia

Ever since I was little I’ve wanted to do everything, and I picked up many new skills. Throughout life I always saw those people on TV who talked about how they achieved their dreams, or those people in the movies who say stuff like, “if you work hard you can achieve anything.” I wanted to have something like that, something I could strive and work toward, I wanted to find my niche like everyone else, something that was mine. 

I was finally able to find my thing when I joined my school’s swim team. I got into swimming just as I got into most things; someone told me to join so I did. Before I joined the swim team I joined a lot of different clubs and teams but I never connected to any of them. I don’t know specifically why I like swimming so much but there are tons of perks to the sport. For instance it is a full body sport meaning it will improve and exercise your whole body. This can be hard sometimes though because this means it hurts a lot; this sport is definitely not for the weak. Another reason swim is a good sport is because of its versatility. If you’re not good at one stroke you can try one of the others and find which one you like and which one you’re good at.     

 Throughout my time on the swim team I noticed one of my favorite parts about it is having my team. There’s nothing like a packed swim meet with all the teams huddled over their teammates’ lane, and cheering their heads off. But it’s not even just the connection from your team, the other teams too. It’s something about how we all show up because we love the sport and want to give it our all. Everyone feels connected and we’re all having fun together. 

Along with this I really enjoy swimming because it helps me feel relaxed and calm. After a long day of school I’m able to go to the pool and just float there. I used to try to get to swim early so while everyones in the locker room talking and doing whatever I’m just in the water. When my ears are submerged in the water all noise and little sounds just drift away and I clear my mind, it’s just silent. The water’s soothing too, it just carries me and I don’t have to do anything but float away. During meets like I said before you can hear everyone yelling and cheering each other on but as soon as that buzzer goes off the whole world just stops. I dive in and immediately as my head hits the water there’s just silence, from then on it’s just me and the race. It feels like only a split second until you’re back up and finished with it, but that split second means everything.

Although swimming is difficult and requires you to work really hard, I still love it and that’s why it’s so rewarding. Seeing all my hard work paying off in the end motivates me and not only does it help me in swimming but also in my everyday life. Knowing that after I work hard and get things done at school that I can go to swim and do something I love gets me through the day. I recommend swimming to everyone, trying it out won’t hurt and you can only gain from it, and who knows you could even find your love for swim just like me.