My Swim Story
“You have to have a dream so that you can get up in the morning,” said Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time and the winner of 22 Olympic medals for competitive swimming. I know that dream could be to sing a solo at a choir concert. That dream could be to go to an Ivy League school. That dream could even be to become the president of the United States. For me, that dream is to succeed in competitive swimming. It’s been my dream since the day I started swimming competitively five years ago. Swimming is not only good for my body and health, but it has also had a heavy emotional impact on me. This is true for anyone who plays a sport. Sports teach many life lessons. The most serious of those lessons is the fact that a sport may be the reason for someone to live. When school becomes dull or people let you down, the passion that drives us to train is a reason to wake up every morning and get going in search of that adrenaline rush and that increment of better than yesterday. When life becomes boring and the only highlight of my day is swim practice, I start to look forward to swimming even more than before. Also, sports improve our lives significantly and make us stronger and cleverer. There are a number of people who have a sport dear to them. Sports have molded the lives of many people in numerous ways but everyone has had a different experience. Swimming has positively impacted my life because it has given me a competitive personality, it has helped me create a growth mindset, and swimming has trained me to control my emotions.
The best part of competitive swimming is the swimming and not the winning but I would be lying if I said that winning didn’t matter. The victorious feeling after placing 1st in a race always makes people feel proud especially after all the work they put in at swim practice. It’s not always easy to get 1st place and athletes have to earn that victorious feeling. Swimming strengthened my competitiveness and I’m glad for that, because competition contributes in making an athlete better. Friendly competition between my teammates has made me faster and more determined. It has also taught me to cheer on others and help others succeed. My team is competitive but my team also supports, motivates and cares for me. From swimming I learned to have sympathy for others when they don’t win a race, but the most important thing I learned was to be happy for others for their successes. I admit I haven’t always felt happy when others drop time and I have been in bad moods when I haven’t been able to keep up with my teammates. Because of this experience, I know now, to learn from my teammates instead of holding grudges against them. Competition is good but grudges aren’t so I taught myself to focus on myself, help others and learn from them.
“Why do I bother using 6 hours every week to swim?” I have asked myself that question thousands of times and every time my answer is that I care about swimming. Swimming is physically hard but it’s emotionally harder. You need to believe in yourself to keep going. Many times my coaches have pushed me to go outside my comfort zone and I couldn’t have done it if I hadn’t cheered myself on. To succeed in swimming or any sport your biggest cheerleader needs to be your mindset. Every time I push myself I throw away the negative thoughts and fill my head with positive ones. This is why my mindset is to become better and that not only helps my swimming but it helps in any other activities I do. Sports help create a constructive mindset. “Believe you can and you’re halfway there” -Theodore Roosevelt. That quote is very true. There are two parts of you that help you succeed in a sport. The physical part, and the mental part. If your mental part is ready to take the challenge then you’re half done. I have always had the decision to give up or keep going and many times I’ve felt that giving up would be the easier choice, but life is always the harder choice. Swimming has many times brought me to my limits but so far I’ve always chosen to keep going. Sports will make you not only physically strong but also mentally strong and it will build and strengthen a positive mindset.
Lastly, swimming has trained me to control my emotions in a healthy way. Everyone in the world feels anger and stress at times, and many people let that anger out in a negative way. However, sports provide athletes a way to relieve anger in a healthy way. We let emotions of anger and stress out while playing our sports. For example, swimming helps my mind get away from angry feelings because when I swim, all I think about is positive things such as, winning and dropping seconds, so when I’m done with swim practice, I’m thinking more rationally. This helps me to deal with stressful situations healthily. Other times if I feel angry, I just need to cool down so I swim faster to let off all that extra energy. I don’t only swim to alleviate my anger but I have observed that when I’m happy I also swim with better technique and I swim faster. One thing that makes humans happy is when they reach a goal that they have worked hard for. At swim practice I make goals for myself and I work hard to reach them so I can feel like swim practice was a success that day. It’s also okay if I don’t reach my goal that day because that just motivates me to get up and work harder the next morning. After all, you don’t always win in a sport. Many times you lose and that’s a good thing. Yes, I said that’s a good thing because that’s how humans learn to control emotions around victory, defeat, happiness, and disappointment.
What is the best way for children to develop physical skills, get regular exercise, make friends, have fun, and learn teamwork? Duh! Playing a sport. Sports are essential for maintaining a good body image and teaching us morals. My sport, swimming, has brought out the best in me and I’m confident that will be the case all through my many years into the future. Sports are an important part of my life and I very much enjoy swimming. Some may say that playing a sport is a pastime but for many athletes it is so much more than that. Playing a sport is a way to reduce stress and anxiety. It is a way to build your character and a positive mindset. I have learned the significance of goal setting and perseverance from competitive swimming. The tremendous impact that swimming has had on me makes me who I am today. It is something that I’m passionate for and the water is a place I feel confident. That confidence comes out of the pool with me too. My adventurous journey in my swimming career has provided me a recipe for success in all parts of my life, even while I’m not playing a sport. Passion, belief, and commitment for my sport is the reason I get up every morning.