Like many other children, much of my childhood consisted of trying to find a sport/activity to get involved in and stick with. I tried dance, Girl Scouts, gymnastics, soccer, volleyball, track and so on. My quest for finding a hobby came to an end when I found a love for swimming. Ever since try outs in 3rd grade the sport taught me so much about myself and life in general. Whether you swam one season on a summer team or continued through college, I'm pretty sure we can all agree that this sport has taught us some very valuable things.
Accepting criticism.
Many people fear criticism, but when you're a swimmer you'll actually value every piece of advice you can get. Who knows, it could help you shave a second or two off of your best time.
Learning to push yourself.
If you feel like you're going to pass out at practice, it most likely means you're doing everything right. Through swimming you learn that you have no limit and working hard becomes your natural instinct.
How to wake up on time.
Overslept for morning practice? No problem, you'll just be doing extra burpees and push ups. Needless to say I barely ever sleep through my alarms in the morning now.
Realizing how much you are capable of.
Every swimmer has looked at a set before and wanted to die. Or how about the first time you were signed up for 500 Free at a meet? Sure it was a little scary, but you survived. Oh and that feeling you get after finishing a hard set? It's indescribable.
Even though I am now an "ex-swimmer" the lessons I learned will stay with me forever and I'll alway be a swimmer at heart.
