Why I Swim

People have asked me why I really swim. Here is what came immediately to mind when I began to write.

"There is this feeling I get when I walk on to a pool deck. Something I have never felt before at the dance studio, on the basketball court or on the soccer field. I see water, just water, the cool blue water. One of the best feelings is diving under the surface of the water and sinking deep down into the pool. You jump in and bubbles surround you. You are being transported down into another dimension.  This isn’t something you can experience at the beach. When you dive under, what do you hear? Do you know? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. After diving in under the water you are in complete silence. You are in your own world. It’s a way to escape the business and reality of the world we live in. Beneath the surface I don’t have to worry about my schoolwork or problems. I am at peace. That is why I swim.

When I am on the block getting ready to race, I have a thousand different things going through my head. I am running through my race: fish kick, streamline, do this stroke, beat the girl next to me, go fast, drop time. On the block I’m pumped. Adrenaline is running rampant throughout my body. I’m pumped yet a little nervous at the same time. Then I hear the official, “Take your mark….”and then the “BEEP!” I think to myself, “GO!!!!” And I’m off. I lunge off the block into the water. I have my one moment of peace and I focus. Then it is go time. My mind is blank. I feel like Missy Franklin winning a gold medal at the Olympics for those two minutes or less that I am racing in the water. After, I am fatigued and exhausted, but you can’t beat the feeling. Even though I’m out of breath, I know I did all I could do. I pushed myself to my limit and worked as hard as I could. This is why I swim."

This piece of writing is from an essay that we had assigned in class. I have edited it further now but the feeling of jumping down into the water and feeling the bubbles rush up and hearing absolute silence is truly the first reason why I swim. The second, has to be the fact that I like to race. Im definitely not the most competitive person, but I still love it. It demonstrates to me that all my hard work will be rewarded. Lastly, I love swimming with all of my friends. They are people that I can trust, mess around, and be life long friends with even when Im grown. I spend more time with them and my coach than I do my family at times. I love my team! GO RIPTIDES!