For me, gymnastics wasn't just a fun after school class I would attend with a bunch of other girls. It was not just a hobby where I would roll around on a bunch of mats, it was my life. Although I am no longer an active gymnast, I will never let myself retire completely from the sport that made me the person I am today. Gymnastics is so much more than getting chalky or learning how to do a split. To anyone who has had the pleasure of falling in love with this amazing sport I am sure can agree with me 100%. I was a competitive gymnast for 16 years (I started when I was 2), so hanging up my grips and throwing in my leo as I started my new chapter, college, was something very strange to me. To not have to rush home and get everything I needed to that day done because I new I wouldn't see the inside of my house again until 9pm. To not have every single weekend in the winter booked because of meets was again, peculiar to me. Because it was such a staple in my life for the entirety of my life is why I will never consider myself retired. It was my label, "Hello my name is Amelia, and I am a gymnast." To anyone that knows me, that is simply just me. I am the girl that did flips and twists on everyone's trampolines I could get my eager feet on. The parents would all watch from the window having silent heart attacks as I did crazy tricks in the air.
Not only did I learn how to do cool tricks to impress my friends (yes I can do a split, and yes I can do a back flip) but I learned so many valuable life lessons. I think the most important lesson learned was that of self discipline. As much as it is a team sport to with the sideline cheering and powerful chants, when you go out on that floor, you are completely alone. It is all you, no one else. That taught me to carry my own weight and do my own work to improve myself. I am a very disciplined person when it comes to hard work and dedication. When I set my mind to something I always accomplish it, that is just how I am. That is why I wanted to say thank you, thank you for shaping me into the person I am toady, and making my childhood a blast. I would be nowhere without gymnastics. So I guess this isn't goodbye, it's a see you later, because whenever I set foot in the gym it isn't long before I'm in the air again.
With love always,
A Gymnast
