My Swimming Career: A Short Story

It was a rainy day, for I felt gloomy, tired, drowsy, and drained. It was freshman year, and I was ready to compete in the regional championships of 1A high school swimming. I was going to swim in the 400 freestyle relay, and I was nervous, excited, ready, and energized. As I sat on the bleachers, where the CSD swim team was located. Before I knew it I was up on the starting block, just about ready to dive off after the previous swimmer made it to the wall. As I was swimming I was flying, soaring, racing and gliding. When I got out of the water after swimming 100 meters I felt gassed, juiced, exhausted, and spent. The raced turned out very well, for we beat Pine Lake Prep, as well as Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy. However, we did not

It was one of those moments where the pressure was on me. And this was one of those moments, which I’ve been dreading ever since I started swim team. It was a race between Liann Tran, one of the fastest people I know, and myself. We knew each other ever since we were infants, and Liann’s mom was the one that recommended my mom to sign me up for swim team. From there on, we began swimming with each other throughout the yearlong season with the Cascade Swim Team that ends during the summer. Throughout the summer, we were in the Southern Division Championship for Summer Swim League. At that time, I didn’t really have a choice but to swim with different coaches at the Southwest pool because I didn’t have a ride to the Rainier Beach pool.

Thesis: Cheever uses symbolism, imagery, and tone to convey the theme of narcissism and suburban emptiness during the 1960’s.

My nerves from the first class unexpectedly came rushing back. These students grew into great swimmers, but I knew that the depth of the water could petrify them. The first few students were able to swim back up with little to no effort, but the last girl lost her footing and slipped into the pool and couldn 't resurface. I froze as I saw her struggling to swim and breathe. My mind quickly flashed back to the time I jumped out of my tube and almost drowned. Then I remembered that I was no longer that little girl who couldn 't swim. I was the adult in charge of saving people 's lives. I quickly dove down to rescue the helpless body. We resurfaced and she was coughing, but still alive and breathing. Until that moment, I never fully understood how much pressure lifeguards are under. During all those classes, I thought my nerves just disappeared, but they can never entirely go away. Anything can happen at any time and a wrong move or bad timing can be the difference between life and death. Thinking on my feet and not knowing what the future holds for me is part of the process of growing

Since I was one of the top runners with a fast time of the one hundred and two hundred events, I had qualified for sectionals. Also, for the four by one relay and the four by four relay, the team of four that I competed in, both qualified for sectionals because we had been the top runners for these events. It was the end of another practice in track, and I stood next to the entrance of the school, waiting for my parents to come pick me up to go home. As I was waiting, I looked outside. The grass was swaying, the sun was behind the clouds like it was playing hide and seek, and the branches of the trees were waving to all nature around them. The day was peaceful, but my mind was racing and racing on the upcoming track meet at Sectionals. I was so excited and exhilarated to compete in sectionals, I couldn 't wait to tell my family. I always have liked the competitive drive every time before I would run a race. I always enjoyed the feeling of the wind against my face, and the power it took to sprint to the finish line. My knees started shaking, and the sharp pain in my stomach began to get worse. How would I get rid of the nervousness before and during the experience of competing in sectionals? How would I know if I’m completely prepared to do my best for the running events? How would I know the other competitors strength and weaknesses in order to get into one of the top places in one of

The course was muddy and slippery and damp. I knew that the last runners who were going qualify to state were going to run a nineteen-minute race. While other teams were practicing and warming up, my team was playing in the playground. From what I’ve been through this week, I know I wasn’t going to make it to state, but I still wanted to know how close I would be .The teams were called to the starting line and I was nervous. POP! The gunshot was heard and everyone was running for a place at state. After the first mile I was in 32nd place, but from there I was not improving. I started to slow down. My head was hurting and felt like it was going to explode, my legs were starting to give up and were feeling like they were going to collapse, and my arms were stiff. At my second mile, I was in 36th place and the coach had a worried face. At this point, I started to give up. I started coughing, had a runny nose, and was gasping for air. I finished the race in 36th place with a time of 19:44. I was exhausted and sad that the season was over, but I knew that I had one more season left to make it to

Three hundred and fifty children under the age of five drown in pools each year nationwide. Two thousand and six hundred children are treated in hospital emergency rooms for near-drowning incidents. These statistics can bring chills down one’s spine. With drowning being such a threat, it is surprising how many guardians of young children dismiss the importance of their child learning how to swim. Survival swim lessons gives infants and toddlers the skills they need to move through the water independently while incorporating being able to breath when needed. Although some parents are fearful of their child swimming, infants and toddlers should be enrolled in survival swim lessons.

The nature of motivation that stems from love is powerful and effective. Whether it is romantic, platonic, or self love, it can be a very potent motivator. In Kari Strutts “Touching Bottom”, the characters are motivated by different types of love. For example, the narrator 's father. He was incredibly supportive of her swimming career, dedicating hours of his time to getting her where she needed to be. Swim practices, meets, and competitions, her father never complained about the intense schedule. He served as a pillar of guidance and support for the narrator as a child, never failing to provide the things she needed. A mother figure was never mentioned by the narrator, so it can be assumed he did all of this alone. The level of dedication and

Still I first, I begin to slow down in pace. I shouldn't have used up most of my energy in the beginning. I'm only half way done with the the 1600 meter, and I'm going to need to preserve my energy. I decide that I will have to take a small break to "Recharge" my energy. Others are now getting very close now, so I decide my little break is over. I fell good enough to finish this race, as I rapidly pick up my pace. The finish line is so close, but so are the other runners. By now, I can hear all of the players booing at me. "I'm going to prove them wrong" I say as I run through the finish line. As the thin piece of paper tears, I'm overwhelmed. Even though I knew I would win, it was still a struggle. The struggle was kind of symbolic of my life. Lots of "Ups" and lots of "Downs". There were times when I had to just take a break, like what happens a lot when I'm getting bullied. At the same time, the was lots of love. Love for the sport, and love for my mom. Track pulled me out of the dark, old life I used to live,and I'm forever great full for it. Track would be now be my career. I can't explain how excited I am for all of these

“You two, get the ball down the pool and take a shot, just make sure it’s inbounds, don’t worry if you miss the goal, Kenzie will get the rebound.” My coach has barked these orders on numerous occasions throughout the year and it has never failed to give me a little thrill inside. As an athlete that tends to go unnoticed, getting acknowledgement in such an offhand way is pretty exciting. It shows me I have a place on the team, a job that my team depends on me to do. Water polo is a very difficult sport. It requires an unparalleled mix of mental and physical strength, and that's just to keep your head above the water! Forest Hills Water Polo has never been the state or regional champion team, we don't even win very often. We don’t care. We

When I was six years old, I would not let go of my dad when we first entered the pool for the fear that I would drown. Now I am seven-teen years old and I fear not being fast enough. Swimming is my passion, and my life, but this wasn’t always the case. Since my high school doesn’t offer a swim team, I sought a team outside of my school district. After finding that Banning High school offered an after school swim team, I joined their swim team around the age of twelve. Despite working hard at practice every day, I was not able to get faster. I was determined to get better so I would go home, watch videos, and learn the techniques. All of my friends and family motivated me to not give up. I started to attend every competition and even though I was not coming out in the first place, I kept trying.

“Legs kicking, arms spinning. As I push off the end of the pool, the water rushes out of my way. I glide through the water straight as a pencil. My legs go up and down, over and over. My arms go round and round like a windmill. I turn my head up and take a breath.” That is how Jenna Ward (November 8, 2016) described the feeling of swimming. Everyone should be able to feel the thrill of accomplishing something so important as swimming. Swimming is a life saving skill all people should learn to do. I have a personal experience with the need to know how to swim. My neighbor drowned when she was five-years-old. She was swimming at a friends house. When no one was watching she jumped in the deep end. She didn’t know how to swim, so she never was able to come back up after going under. Her parents were busy with her younger siblings, so they didn’t see her jump. If she knew how to swim that never would have happened. Everybody should learn how to swim. Unfortunately, not all kids can go to swimming lessons, but there is an easy way to fix that problem. If schools taught swimming during gym all students would have a chance to learn to swim. Kids are going to be at school anyway. Why not teach them to swim there? Swimming should be taught in school because not everyone can or chooses to take swimming lessons, it teaches a life saving skill, and once someone learns to swim, they can swim their whole life.

There is a bond between me and the girls on my synchronized swimming team. I stand in the center of an intricate web, ropes tying me to all twenty-five girls. Some of the connections are loose, providing enough slack to allow independent movement. Others are tightly wound, connecting me to my teammates completely. As my swimming team’s captain, I have gained awareness to my team’s deeper level of relationships. I must pay attention to the outer reaches of the web, where the girls cling on only by a wispy string,. Cord by cord, I can pull gently on someone’s rope and show them that yes, they do belong on my team. This is how I build the team and give back to a group that pulled me in from the outside five years ago.

One time at a meet, I had been entered to swim the 100 butterfly. I had never swam more than a 50 before this, but I gritted my teeth instead of scratching the event. When I stepped up to the block, I saw a few swimmers with the same striking blue and red swim caps as me at the other end of the pool, but didn’t think anything of it. During the race, I could feel my limbs growing sore and my lungs aching to breathe normally again. Above the deafening splashes of water around me, I picked up a different sound: cheers. “Go! Go!” Yelled the Stars swimmers that I had never talked to before in my life. They screamed for me at the end of my lane knowing that I was going to get last place, knowing that I wasn’t trying to swim fast but just trying to survive. That’s how I made it to the wall. It just shows how much the Stars family means to everyone in it. A couple of older swimmers had identified me by my suit and cap, and that was all

The sound of the whistle jolted me into action. I dove from the block, and a wave of silence crashed over me as I hit the water. For a moment, there was a sense of serenity as I swam under the surface. The spell broke as I rose for air. I could hear everyone yelling and cheering. Tuning out the noise, I tucked my head under the water, staring at the pool’s tiled floor. Nearing the wall, I lifted my head to gather a breath of air before my flip turn to start my second lap. Looking up, I saw five of my team members at the end of my lane cheering for me. With a renewed energy from their excitement, I turned and continued the race. After the race was over and I was out of the pool, I took my hard-earned ribbon and scurried back to where my swim