Personal Narrative: Gymnastics

Gymnastics enveloped my childhood. My wardrobe consisted mostly of multicolored leotards. My house was constantly dusted with white gymnastics chalk. My walls were covered in posters of Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson, Olympians who I idolized. Years of my life were spent transfixed on this sport which strives for a seemingly unattainable perfection. Yet, the dedication and discipline that gymnastics taught me will stay with me forever, and these traits have helped me to discover new goals, even in the wake of disappointment.
Seventh grade brought a great deal of change in my life. Not only did I start middle school, but I also began taking one ballet class a week. Though gymnastics continued to be the center of my life, I started to fall in love with dancing. Meanwhile, the gymnastics state
I did moderately well in every event with no major falters despite my lack of recent practice. The most difficult event was the floor. This was the routine which had caused my injury two weeks before. Toward the end of this routine, I took an extra step which lowered my score by .5 points. While the judges calculated everyone’s scores to determine who would receive medals, I anxiously waited to find out whether I had qualified to compete at the regional competition. After what felt like hours, we finally had the awards ceremony where I received medals on the beam and all around. Though I was happy about the medals, my heart was shattered when I found out I hadn’t qualified for Regionals. My teammate Allie had beaten me by .5 points, causing her to qualify in my place. Initially, I felt a great deal of animosity toward Allie because I felt that I deserved to go to Regionals more than her after overcoming my injury. However, my anger subsided and was replaced with happiness for her and her accomplishment. When Regionals came, I traveled to Las Vegas with Allie and her family to support my teammates at the