Competitive Swimming; the sport I know and love
Swimming is a low impact sport that is widely regarded as relaxing and healthy. But competitive swimming pushes those boundaries a bit, with the aim of breaking personal and game records in attempts to out-swim the opposition in separate stroke categories (namely Freestyle, Butterfly, Backstroke, Breaststroke and Individual Medley). Like most of my friends and family, I never thought much of it apart from its health benefits; how wrong I turned out to be.
Competitive swimming has been a huge part of my life; since a young age and prior to college, I've spent about twenty hours a week in the pool. Although swimming is widely regarded by my peers as a solitary, repetitive and boring sport, and despite it taking a lot from me, (seeing my team more than my brother and my coach more than my parents), I've stuck with it regardless. From celebrating the triumphs to persevering through the failures, my team has played an integral role in my development and love for the sport. My team has been both my partners and my competitors, but through it all we've stuck together as a family.
As like any other sport, swimming has taught me so much more than merely staying fit. To begin with, I've learnt the importance of discipline and diligence in excelling at anything, not just a sport. With a relatively small build, I often lacked the confidence to perform my best, but I now know that what I lack in physical strength, I can compensate with mental resilience. Arguably the greatest aspect of competing in swimming (or any sport) is that I've learnt to respect the uniqueness of everyone in any community; I believe that we all benefit from each others' experiences. Whether it's the life lessons that it has taught me, or the feeling of freedom in the sequestered waters of an early morning pool, swimming has become part of my life that I will cherish and grow from.
It's awesome to se you've learned so much from a sport you love. Keep at it
ReplyDeleteSwimming is awesome! I love swimming too. You just feel so free. Keep doing your thing and as Dori from Finding Nemo said, "Just keep swimming!"
ReplyDeleteHey i was a swimmer too! I bet you don't miss jumping in the pool at 5AM when its freezing cold outside... And that's cool you can look back and think about all you've learned from it
ReplyDeleteI used to swim as well and through playing two other different sports, I have found many of my traits and characteristics today to have come from playing sports.
ReplyDeleteI have always admired swimmers! If I was good at it and didn't feel like I was drawing I would do it all the time. Proud of you
ReplyDeleteIt's wonderful to know the lessons you've learned from swimming. I never though of it as solitary, I think it's a great sport and has potential to be less "solitary"
ReplyDeleteI was really into playing sports before I got into college too! and I believe with all competitive sports it teaches you a lot about yourself, how to work in a team, and how to be a leader.
ReplyDeleteI like that you learned so much from swimming, I really admire competitive swimmers for it takes a lot of strength, both mental and physical, to be successful
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