I had woken up from a nap, when my mom hollered from her reclining chair in our family room. Whenever I hear her say my name in an urgent matter, I always get nervous. “Kamille, I think you might want to see this!”
“What is it?”
“Here.” I peered onto her lap which held up her laptop. She had pulled up our swimming assignments for the meet that night. My jaw couldn’t have dropped faster as I scanned my name. Two letters in particular stood out. I.M. This was the race of nightmares; this was the race every swimmer feared. Visibly shaken, my mom …show more content…
By the time we received our lane assignments and lined up, my body felt as though I already swam it. My nerves were getting the better of me, and I felt myself tense up. I remember telling myself to back out, run away, get out of this situation, but my legs only moved to step up onto the block. Shoving my goggles into place, I achieved a powerful suction. If I was going to swim this race, I needed to make sure my goggles stayed on; otherwise, I’m as good as sunk. They painfully wrenched on my eyes, so I knew that they were in place. Balancing on the small blocks was difficult. Clawing at my agitated stomach and pounding head, my anxiety was running at an all time high, and it felt like every screaming crowd member could tell. The starter of the race began the same words I have been hearing for my entire swim career, although they seemed different. These words stabbed me with so many thoughts and emotions and enveloped me into a state of