Sink and Float

When I was young, my parents never treated me the same way as they treated my other siblings. Starting in seventh grade, I was dropped off at the municipal pool every day after school to take swimming lessons so my parents did not have to bother taking care of me at home. At first, I dreaded taking swimming lessons, but after a while I had grown to love it. In high school, I joined the swim team excelling in meets and later on becoming the captain. As I matured in high school, I became anxious in gaining my parents approval to finally being accepted for being their only daughter. After a long tiring day, my parents came to drop me off at the community pool to start my first swimming lesson. Since the idea of being in pool water was frightening, it was terrifying going to an hour practice every day, which felt like years. Throughout my middle school years, my parents never stayed to watch any of my meets. Instead, they would be too busy watching my other siblings playing their sports. I always wished they had the desire to be interested in my sport as they would be with my other siblings. Starting high school, nothing has changed. I have continued my swimming lessons and joined my high school’s swimming team. After a couple of meets, I gradually exceeded as a freshman to be one of the top swimmers in the team. My teammates were jealous that a freshman was beating them. During the meets, they would try and discourage me by calling me names. I did not let the teasing get to me, but instead, it made me want to achieve so much more than I had planned to. The following year, I was put in the varsity team. I was the only freshman who got into the varsity team from the previous year. My coaches played a major role in motivating me to succeed in swimming. It was my home away from home, they filled in the parental role my parents failed to do. By my junior year all the people who discouraged me had accepted me into the team.