Swimming. From the outside looking in, you can’t understand it. From the inside looking out, you can’t explain it.

Every swim team has its own little quirks, but there are some things that all swimmers can understand. That’s what makes the sport so special; everyone is in it together.

1. Waking up at 4:30 a.m to go to morning practice

Jumping into a freezing pool when it is freezing outside only gets worse the earlier it has to happen. If afternoon practice is rough, morning practice is significantly worse. Standing behind the blocks, goggles and cap on, just staring at the body of water you have to jump into.

2. Spending your weekends swimming

Whether it be three-hour practices or eight-hour meets, you spend your weekends in the water. If by some rare chance you don’t have any chlorine related activities on a weekend, you usually spend it sleeping.

3. Swimming destroys your social life

I mean really. Your friends who aren’t involved in the sport just do not understand why you are literally always submerged in chlorine. They will constantly ask you to hang out and have fun with them and you continuously try to explain that you cannot hang out - you have practice. Every day.

4. The misery of your least favorite event, or the joy of your favorite.

Everyone has those meets, where it seems that your coach is out to get you. He or she puts you in all of the events that you cannot stand. Whether it be distance or sprint, there is nothing worse than finding out you’re in your least favorite event. On the other hand, swimming your favorite events is like Christmas morning. You know that you’ve trained for it, and that you have the capability to kill it.

5. Your teammates

Although swimming is a rough sport with plenty of lows, your teammates are like your family. They have your back, you have theirs. Hands down the best part of the sport is having a team that you can share your victories, your losses, and the brutal practices with. Most swimmers make their best friends through the sport. Having an amazing team makes everything worth it, and makes swimming a much more loveable sport.

Obviously, there are countless more things that make swimming the best sport out there. But for every swimmer, past and present, the sport holds a piece of their hearts and some of their favorite memories.