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Personal Narrative: High School Swim

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Heart pounding loudly, I step onto the block cautiously, ensuring that I won’t slip and fall. On cue, I bend down and breathe out. “Here we go,” I think as the buzzer goes off and I jump. As a Bashore, it was expected that I would be a swimmer, like my sisters. It only made sense, I grew up swimming in the lake and I loved the water. My entire swimming career started way back in 2007. I was six years old and my mom had finally decided to give me my first taste of competitive swim. She had signed me up for the Minnows swim club and I was terrified. New situations always scared me and this was no different. Swim wasn’t too bad. At my young age, I saw it as a few hours a week to have some fun in the water. But that excitement wasn’t there for …show more content…
I was terrified that I wouldn’t fit into any event. I wasn’t really good at anything other than free, and I hated long distance. I was okay at sprinting, but not great. Both of my sisters had very specific niches. Hannah was a record holder in the 100 fly and 200 IM, Hayley was a record holder in the 500 free and 200 free. 8th grade passed, and for the first time in my life, I was not looking forward to summer. High school swim starts the second week of June and goes to December. The day of the first high school practice came and I felt sick. We got to the pool and I really wished I could stay in the car. Looking back, all of these worries were silly. I got so riled up and psyched myself out so much for something so small, in the big picture. At the end of the practice, I was torn. Part of me was relieved but I was also very unhappy. The practice was harder than anything I could have ever imagined, and the thought of going back for almost 3 hrs a day, 5 days a week, for the next 6 ½ months was unbearable. I didn’t want to go back the next day, much less the next 6 months. But I did go back. Practices got harder, but I was getting …show more content…
But soon that changed, a new era began. I had finally found my niche. One day, my coach decided to put me in the 500 and the 200. I did well, and after that meet those were my events. I swam them in an invitational and was able to medal in both events, out of over 50 other girls. It gave me a sense of calm, knowing that I wouldn’t have to worry about being put in the butterfly again. But, the problem was that I really hated both of the events. They were so hard, long, and tiring. But while they are difficult, I still am happy that I can contribute points in events that I’m good

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