When I started highschool, I was completely unaware of the world of rowing. Offhandedly, I signed up for a learn to row expecting a fun, week long camp — and I have been rowing almost constantly since. Although rowing can be all consuming, I found that the more I did it, the more time I wanted to spend doing it. The collective feeling of grit, pain, disappointment, fear, excitement, and euphoria amplified in perfect unison by some of those closest to me was powerful enough to have me buy in for life. But I was a student who always put academics as the absolute priority. I had already figured out how my future looked and how I thought I needed to spend my time. Would there be room for this new part of my life? After working to find a balance, I have found that this duality has only helped to improve the individual aspects of my life because I know they work in synergy to make me a better person as a whole. This excites and inspires me every day to go out and push myself to the limit for the sport of which I love to be a part.