This Is IT!

I don't think anybody could've guessed how something so insignificant as joining the Copperfield Dolphin Swim Team 14 years ago could have lead to my love for a sport that has completely changed my life.

I was three that first summer when I started to learn how to swim. And I was "THAT" 6 and under. You know, the one who everybody clapped for at the end of a 25 freestyle, not because they had just swum really fast and the crowd was applauding them on their skill, but rather because 5 minutes later the meet could finally move on. I can promise you that nobody at that time would have guessed the lasting impact and life-changing aspect that swimming would have on my life.

I don't think I could ever explain it in words the way that swimming has changed my life. I remember being younger and being a scared, timid, shy, quiet, insecure little girl. Nervousness and a lack of confidence tinted my everyday life: my schoolwork, swimming, my friends, it was apart of my everything. I was like a butterfly still stuck in a cocoon, just wanting to break out and never knowing how. I would go to swim practice, I would keep my goggles on all the time, and nobody was going to tap into the confused little girl that was trapped under that cap and beneath the goggles.

Now? I'm fearless, bold, confident and loud. Positivity and an upbeat attitude carry over from the pool to my life. I know exactly who I am and what I stand for. I have learned to let my guard down and be real with people, something I have struggling with for a long time. Swimming has defined my character and my being, and I don't know where I would be today without that as a fundamental part of my life.

Knowing that this is my last week is so hard. I have given so much to this sport, I have given my everything to it, and I know that it is coming to an end. I never thought I would get this emotional about it. I never figured I'd be sitting here typing this and be feeling the tears rolling out of my eyes. I never would have guessed. I never figured I'd be taking a shower and burst into tears realizing how quickly everything seems to be ending. It just didn't occur to me that eventually I would have a last week of swimming, I would have a last practice, I would have a last meet warm up, a last meet, a last race. I don't think anything could have prepared me for this. To hang up my cap and goggles and close the chapter of swimming that has been opened and been writing viciously my entire life.

I never would have guessed that this is it.