If you were in a sport growing up, try to sit back and think about that time. Did physical activity create a positive impact on your life? If so, I'm sure you feel the exact same way about sports as I do. Throughout my life, I was a dancer (performing in ballet, tap, jazz, and hip hop), an ice skater (for a very small period of time), a cheerleader, pole vaulter, and my all-time favorite, being a gymnast.

Through the ups and downs, the sport of gymnastics has had nothing but a positive impact on me. It definitely was the hardest sport I have ever been in both mentally and physically, but everything that it involved, has tremendously affected all areas of my life. First, gymnastics has given me life-long friends. My teammates were the ones that helped me through whatever obstacle I was facing.

Specifically, they got me through some mental-blocks. In gymnastics and in any other sport, these are just limitations that someone has set in their mind that "isn't allowing them" to perform the desired task. This can be for various reasons. First, a gymnast being hesitant because they are afraid of getting injured, they haven't tried the skill before, or they have gotten previously injured on the skill and are trying to mentally and physically progress and overcome it.

For instance, beam was one of the most terrifying events in my opinion. Having to practice and compete on an apparatus that was only four inches wide, was a whole other ballgame. My teammates and coaches have been able to guide me through my training and positive thinking so that I was able to become more confident.

Gymnastics has definitely played some mental games on me at times. If I step foot on either vault, bars, beam or floor, and think to myself, "I'm completely terrified and I don't know if I can go for it," that can only lead to disaster and indecisiveness. I have learned that it is important to just take a deep breath and completely believe in myself so that I feel safe and capable.

I have experienced various setbacks in this sport, and from them, I have learned how to grow. One of them is that in 2009, I broke both bones in my right arm completely in half. I have also broken my growth plates in both of my wrists which to my knowledge, was an overuse injury. Both of these major incidents prevented me from doing gymnastics very long periods of time. Transitioning from different casts to slings, to removable braces, to doctors appointments and what felt like hundreds of physical therapy appointments, and conditioning drills at the gym, I felt as if it was never going to end—that I would never be the gymnast I was before.

The biggest and most challenging part of this sport was training myself to think positive when I didn't find it possible. Gymnastics has taught me that I can fight through anything, and push towards the goal. The beauty of this is that this concept can apply to every part of my life today. For example, in school, if I feel that I'm "not smart enough" to understand an assignment or if I get a new job and I don't feel like I'm perfect or learning at a fast pace, I know that I can carry on and tell myself that I've done harder things, and have felt accomplished.

At times if I am feeling as if I'm not capable of something, I think about how far I've come, and reflect on it. This sport has taught me to be confident, determined, motivated, and passionate for the sport itself, and everything that I do. I have learned that pain is temporary and that any kind of setback can be overcome with time.

The overall goal in life isn't to be perfect. No one is perfect. It's to be satisfied, happy, and content with the progress that you have made. Knowing that it's one more step closer to the desired end result.