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Personal Statement
It awes me, now that I look back and realize how hats turned into swim caps, glasses turned into goggles, a hobby turned into a lifestyle, and a small 25-meter pool became my home. I participated in my first competitive swim meet when I was six, today, I am almost sixteen. Over the years, I have devoted more time and energy in the pool than I have in anything else. When my friends jokingly ask me why I couldn't have picked a more “fun” or “mainstream” sport to suffer my answer is: I don't know.
I don't know what exactly I enjoy about this monotonous and frankly, lonely, sport. I don't know how I find joy in staring at a black line at the bottom of the pool for two hours straight, but I do. I don't know why I choose to wake up at 4:20 AM for morning practices, but I do. I don't know why I am so passionate about a sport where I’m almost entirely defined by the blinking red numbers on the time board, but I am.
What I do know, is that I love this sport because it has given me a sense of security and empowerment that no one can take away. Through swimming, I’ve learned discipline, and I’ve curated a mindset and a better outlook that I can channel into other areas of my life--school and relationships. I’ve also learned how to handle pressure, failure, and disappointment- even the worst ones. Over the years, I’ve come to realize that, yes, the timer doesn't lie, but there is more to me, as an athlete than how many Summer Junior National cuts I have or what my power index is. With that, swimming has helped me realize that there's more to me as a student than how many APs I take in the future and whether or not I have a 4.0 GPA.
My favorite quote that I happened to stumble upon on Instagram one day is: “In 20 years, it won't matter what your 100-meter freestyle time is, what will matter is what you have gotten out of this sport.” Many of us, including myself, become so distracted by the final results that we forget to appreciate the little, everyday things: The people on our team, the process of making progress—slowly but surely, the “lifestyle” that is so boring now but in a few years will disappear, submerged by the burdens of adulthood.
As someone who has raced for almost ten years, it took a while for me to stop beating myself down after every bad race, it took even more for me to open my eyes and realize everything my sport and its community are offering to me.
Through swimming, I’ve learned to cherish the insignificant, fleeting moments of happiness during team bonding and after-practice social kicks. Through swimming, I’ve learned to put the process above the results: each and every day. Through swimming I’ve learned that It's okay to be misunderstood, that some people will always deem your progress as “talent,” and your good grade as “luck,” and in that case, the best possible response you can give is to stay in your own lane, and to focus on how you can improve yourself on that next swim, that next test. Through swimming… the list would go on. I liked it and only wished it was longer.
