Swimming Monologue

Swimming was a part of my life even before it even began. My dad had worked as the local high school's swim coach for many years before I was born, not to mention that his dad (my grandpa) has also served as a swim coach before his retirement. Needless to say, I foreseeably grew up both in and around the pool. I learned to embrace the constant smell of chlorine, scream as loudly as the surrounding crowd during especially intense races, and tame the inevitable frizziness of my dry hair as naturally as I learned to breathe. Swimming, one might declare, was as much a part of me as my own blood from the get-go.

I would argue, however, that it never quite worked so predictably.

I had always felt a connection to the sport, but it was not until my freshman year of high school that I really began to feel a connection to the team. As a middle schooler, I was shy, awkward, and insecure. That combination, as one could imagine, made it very hard
They saw my dream and supported it as I supported them with their own dreams. They saw redeemable qualities hidden within my personality and, slowly but surely, drew them out. They helped me figure out who I am through the mutual passion that we shared for swimming. I do not know who I would be had I not received my team mates' unconditional love and support throughout high school, but I know for certain that they made me a better and more confident individual than I ever could have been without them.

In conclusion, I certainly was not born with a natural aptitude for swimming. Everything that I have taken from swimming; every lesson, every time drop, and every friendship is something that I worked for in order to receive. Both the sport and everyone that I have met through it have indubitably played an important role in my personal development. It is for these reasons that swimming will always hold a special place in my heart, no matter where I go in