Lessons Learned From A Stroke-Personal Narrative

"BEEEEEP!" Turning off the familiar but annoying sound of the alarm, lying in bed until the last possible second, I admit: this is the big day. All those practices and early mornings will be rewarded today. Finally crawling out of bed to get ready for the meet, I grab my goggles, a towel, water, and a quick breakfast on the way out the door. Checking in with the coach before finding the rest of the team as the pool area becomes louder with every passing minute while more and more people arrive at the big event. Sitting and resting, I try to save all my energy for the race. I put my headphones in and turn music on as I try to begin to focus. Talking to friends to try to calm nerves. It is time.

For starters, I was embarrassed by the mental image of myself flailing around in the water and for what I perceived as making a mockery of the team I represented. Not only this, but I became livid with myself, for the hardest and fastest I was able to make my body move still was not enough to comply with my personal expectations. The vow I created on the car ride home still stands in effect to this date; to strive to my greatest potential, making the goal universal for every characteristic of my life.

“Regan,” says Sam, our new head coach, pointing at me. “Lane five.” Walking over to my lane, I tried not to fall over with exhaustion. The coaches put you with people who they think swim your pace, and generally lanes five and six are typically for the fastest swimmers. They worked about double of what everyone else did, and they were expected to be the best. I definitely didn’t think I was one of those people, but apparently Sam did.

I ran back up the hill to our camp, trying to move quickly without wasting too much energy, took my inhaler, and rushed back down the hill. Soon, it was time for the race to start. The officials gave an overview of information about the race and how it would start. The official behind us blew a long whistle. We stood, motionless, just waiting for that starting gunshot. Pow! The race was off. I sprinted out of the pack. I tried to find a good pace and settle in. We ran up a few hills, and then we made it to the first entrance to the creek. Unintelligently, I didn’t slow down very much going into the creek. Because I didn’t slow down, I splashed into the creek with a belly flop, almost submerging my whole body underwater. I got up quickly, then began to climb up the mud wall. I clawed at that wall like it was my enemy. I avoided the rope, even though it actually wasn’t that busy at the moment. I was too focused to switch strategies. We continued to run on, passing many fans, their cheers a chaotic blur. We passed through the second part of the creek, which was not nearly as deep. It was only about mid-shin to knee level, so I made my way through just fine. We ran all over the vineyard. I wasn’t feeling too awful. I was just caught up in the thrill of the race! We made it to the cornfields, and there were lots of small hills. I ran through them staring at the ground, and I kept seeing the same pair of shoes. For some strange reason, I kept staring at those shoes. People do crazy things when they run, you could say! Anyways, I passed the person wearing those shoes. We ran away from the corn fields and under a bridge. I was coming closer and closer to the finish. I was struggling to continue, but I would not quit! I pushed through the pain, but by the end of the race, I was just done. I saw the final hill in front of me. It was one of the biggest hills on the course, if not the biggest, and it was definitely the most difficult after

After meandering around for a while, it was our turn to practice. We trekked down the long corridors down to the field and performed to the best of our ability while out coach looked on, scrutinizing out every move. "Remember, there aren't many of us so if we want to place we need to make sure that the quality of the routine is outstanding," she reminded us. All of our grueling 6:00 practices weeks in advance had lead up to this. In just a few moments we were going to perform in front of the slew of stern judges. Rehearsing our routine beforehand, however, did little to fend off the anticipation we all

Standing behind the starting block, I began to turn my head in both directions, eying out my competition. Standing behind lane four, I began to see who was seeded ahead of me. Seeing Her I began to shake girl standing behind lane three was Maya, my friend and the fastest swimmer on our team. Every chance I got to race her, I always messed up, one way or another.

Ever since i’d moved to John McCrae Senior Public School in grade 5 it had been my dream to compete in the 100 meter sprint at Birchmount Stadium. So when the opportunity to qualify to go to Birchmount was approaching I didn’t leave it up to fate. I trained for a week to make sure that I was ready for the tryout.

My lungs were burning. The wind whipped past my face as I listened to the echos of the cheering crowd. I could see the straight white ribbon stretched across the finish line. I remember complete euphoria as I tore past that ribbon first. Sweat dripping into my eyes, I smiled as I walked off the track. The weight of the gold metal on my chest, was a glorious symbol of all my hard work. I would never get another one for sprinting again.

All the time and hard work spent had to pay off for something. I was also determined to beat my biggest rival on the team. She wouldn't hesitate to smear my face in it if she got a faster time than me. We stepped up to the 200 meter starting line and I tried to push the nervous thoughts out of my head. It felt like butterflies were bouncing off the walls of my stomach. We got into the start position and our coach began counting down from 5. It was only 5 seconds but it felt like an eternity. The four of us took off in unison and I could tell I was going to have to give this race everything I had. There was no way I was going to let the others defeat me. I heard the pounding of my feet against the track as I ran the curve. That's when I realized I was already in front of the rest and I began sprinting with every ounce of energy I had left. There were nearly 100 meters to the finish line and my legs were moving so fast it felt as if I was flying. I kept thinking about how much I had been working towards this and how I would not let myself down. Bolting through the finish line I could tell that was one of the best races I've ever run. My lungs felt heavy, legs aching from exhaustion and my eyes were watering from the frigid wind. As my coach was recording my time on his clipboard he revealed how many seconds faster I had been. Not only had I beaten my own personal best, but I had gotten the fastest sub varsity time.

This moment was what we had worked for our entire swimming careers. It was exhilarating. It felt like we were on top of the world. I felt as though everything below me was moving in slow motion but, I didn't mind because I wanted this feeling to last forever. I had the medal around my neck and I was smiling with pure joy.

I wake up barely dawn, when the early morning is still unpleasantly chilly and most of my peers are comfortably cuddled in their blankets. I, on the other hand, will dive into the pool. My weary limbs urging me to go back to bed, but my ambitious heart encouraging me to move forward. I keep going, training, and racing for the next two and a half hour; everyday, until my arms are too tired to lift my aching body out of the pool. Some days were easy. I had motivation and full of energy. Others, were much more difficult and I had to improvise, adapt, and overcome.

The finish line approached fast, my confidence had built as I forced my way towards the end. Still in front, I couldn't quite believe it. I was finally over the line. The roar of noise pierced my ears, serving to snap me back into this reality. The feeling of relief was immense. Arms all around me, like a cradle I wanted to fall back into, as my legs felt like giving way. I was exhilarated but

The pool was cold and I was breathing heavy. I felt like every muscle in my body was going to explode. I was swimming the last lap of the 500,and I couldn't feel my body. The black line at the bottom of the pool taunting me, since I have been staring at it for 19 laps. I only had one more lap to go, and I didn't know if I would make it. Through my tinted goggles I could see my teammates in black and orange suits jumping in the air cheering. My coach hands were moving,so fast and he was cheering so loud. I was finally approaching the yellow and blue flags. In my head I just kept telling myself ”You can do this, you can do this.”

After the meet started I was shaking so hard thinking about my races, I stood behind the blocks ready to race many races before my own, when it was finally my turn to swim my first race I couldn’t even feel the water

I found my coach first, who watched the entire race from the poolside. I raced towards her, and gave her the biggest hug as I thanked her for everything she had done for me. Afterwards, I searched for my parents back in the gym where we sat to wait. They both grabbed and held me while congratulating me. I was so excited about what I had just done, I thought that if I hugged them hard enough, they would be able to feel exactly how I