Swim Personal Statement

It was sometime around 6:00 p.m. on a Thursday night in the middle of January 2016. There was a swim meet going on and it was just about to start. The teams were warming up and getting ready for the meet that was due to start in the coming hour. I was warmed up and concentrating on the race listening to music in my newly acquired platinum studio beats. The music was loud and the nerves were setting as I walked into the locker room with my friend and teammate. As we passed I said good luck to our teammate who I was racing against in the 200 free style. Then out of know were he pulled my friend to the side and whispered something in his ear. I didn’t hear what was said as I had continued to walk. My friend came over to me and I asked what he had said and he told me. He told me

After receiving the award, I continue to visit the residents at St. Barnabas and share my gifts of music, by playing the piano, flute, and leading group sing-a-longs. I throw myself into my activities and do so with a happy, humble heart. An important quality I possess includes my integrity and respect. I always uphold strong moral integrity and respect those around me. I understand that you must treat others as you would want to be treated, and to be respected, you must do the right thing even when no one is watching. I am a strong leader as I am a person who takes action and gets involved, in order to help others and the team. When I see an opportunity to be supportive and to lend a helping hand, I jump in. I am not a person who sits in the background and waits for someone else to do something. I am a go-getter, who thrives on helping those around me. I am very organized with all of my activities, both academically and socially. I input over 200%. I understand that without a strong work ethic and passion, only the minimal will be accomplished. As Class Secretary for the past four years and as upcoming National Honor Society Peer-Tutoring Coordinator, I remain organized in sending emails, marking attendance, collaborating new ideas and fundraising opportunities, and encouraging others. I am an effective communicator as I understand that each voice matters. I do not speak just to hear my own voice, and I value the thoughts of others. I speak up when I have

I woke up nauseous, too sick to eat. The whole drive there I was praying it would be cancelled. The fear consumed me; I couldn’t move. I just wanted to be home in my warm, comfy bed, instead I was diving into an ice cold pool. After warm-up my coach gave me a pep talk, but I was too nervous to listen. Sometimes I got so nervous I’d throw up, right before my event. To this day I still don’t understand why I got so anxious at swim meets. For the past several years, I have had a love hate relationship with swimming. I always struggled with swimming, and many times I wanted to quit. The time commitment and the physical requirements have always been a little too much for my mind to handle and it all comes to a crescendo when it is time to compete. I often wondered why I continued to put

The contributions I have made to my school include participating in volleyball from the fall of 2014 to present. For volleyball, we have collected food for the food pantry, conducted a youth night to teach younger children the fundamentals of volleyball, and a breast cancer awareness night which included raising money to fund breast cancer research. I also participate in dance and softball. For the 2016 softball season I was chosen for the spirit award because of my positive attitude and energy during games and practices. Through hard work and dedication the dance team won conference champs at the 2016 conference competition. I was chosen by my coaches for the Limitless Leader Award and the Sportsmanship Award in 2015 and last year. I have earned a varsity letter in

“Get up now,” My mom yelled down the hallway. “Hurry or you’ll be late!” My brother and I dreaded waking up early to swim, but we had chosen to commit. Even though I’ve competed every year since first grade, I still struggled. That summer swimming taught me to have stamina, the ability to not quit even though it was hard.

During my collegiate years of school, I want to make them my personal growth period. My academic plan includes an architecture major that will allow me to become a suitable urban planner/architect. In the pool, I will be a dynamic swimmer, as well as a positive and encouraging teammate. As I constantly grow physically and mentally through my college swimming career, I will become well diverse in freestyle events from the 50 to the 1650. Being a college athlete, I know the responsibility and commitment in which is expected of me. I will pursue to honor myself, teammates, coaches, and the school I attend, both on and off the

Westfield High School swimmers practiced for one last day on January 6 before the Hoosier Crossroads Conference, which would be the following day hosted by Brownsburg and would also mark less than a month before the team’s most important meets, sectionals and state, begin.

People need self-motivation to succeed because not every problem can be solved by others, some have to be solved by oneself. When conflicts arise, individuals need to seek out the path of best fit to conquer the issue at hand. Throughout my entire childhood, I aspired to be a great swimmer. When I was a young adolescent, my favorite sport to watch during the Olympics was swimming. How could someone move so fast through the water? The extremely close races and extraordinary comebacks always excited me. I wanted experience the thrill for myself.

There is a quote by Henry Ford, “Coming together is a beginning, keeping together is a process, working together is a success”. As a newcomer athlete on the Aquahawgs Swim Club, I was very cautious and weary of my behavior on the first day. Show up, do the practice, keep quiet, and go home. This mindset got me through the first 3 months and were by far the worst months of my entire athletic career. I was isolated, forced to create my own motivation and be my own critic. I hated the sport. For some reason that I still wonder about, I stayed, but enthusiasm was not present. I truly believed that I was a liability to the team because of my lack of performance in meets. That was truly my dark time. My saving light came in the form of 4, awkward,

My life was changed this summer after my winter swim team received unexpected news. We were told that we would no longer be able to practice at the same pool as before, leaving all of the swimmers without a place to practice. Unfortunately, this meant that my team, the Tiger Sharks, would no longer exist. I was devastated and now forced to bring myself upon a new team with unfamiliar faces. On my new team the head coach, Coach Bill, was able to assist me in making this transition easier and he was also exceptionally inviting to me and the other new swimmers. His unique training allowed me to immensely improve my swimming.

“Eliana, stop swimming so close to the wall!” My high school swim coach would yell, at least once every practice. While being a successful high school swimmer and trying to maintain my high GPA, I have faced many obstacles. Some of them being physical barriers, like injuries, due to too much swimming, or struggles with too much AP homework, but I never expected the biggest obstacle in my high school swimming career to be the one in my head.

At the ripe age of 18, it was my last year swimming. Sadly, it was also my first. The idea to start swimming came from my boyfriend, who had been doing it his whole life. He thought it would allow us to have more quality time together. Even though I started swimming to spend time with him, I grew to really enjoy the sport and I wanted to get better and better each time I hit the water. I ended up getting really good really quickly because the sport came so natural to me. Although it was my first year, I was already competing in the City Meet, and I wanted to do my best because I knew that it would be my last chance to race.

It was a cold October day. The closer I came to the fogged up windows, the faster my heart would beat making my breath quicken. I step into the locker room to prepare for the pool. As soon as I step out the humidity hit me. I’ve been scoping out the competition for a few hours now and they are good. I say to my friend” I sure hope that I don’t have to race against them” . Then my name gets called and what do you know I have to go against a state winner and 6 more excellent swimmers. Suddenly my number gets called.”Swimmer's step up!”.My heart racing. Adrenalin pumping. Me trying to calm down so I can actually go. “ Swimmers ready?”...The whistle blows.

"No! Mom, STOP! I don't want to do it!" I bawled. My face flushed red , tears streaming down my face as I was backed into a corner. There was no escape, I lunged forward with a death grip around my mother's leg. Burying my face into her jeans, I pleaded one last time, to no avail. Still clinging on to her leg, she drags me over the cruel, tile floor. "Take him," she said nonchalantly, "He'll be fine." With an exasperated look she hands me over to my new swim instructor. I was still hyperventilating, overcome with fear of the water. "Let's wash away those tears!" my teacher said with a smile. Before I knew it, I was submerged beneath the water. It was only for a moment but it seemed like an eternity. Time froze, all the noise

Life impacting events can come in many different forms. They can come as a wedding, the birth of a child, a divorce, a death, or in another way. Mine came in a single decision. I decided to join swim team in third grade and it changed my life. I have experienced so many amazing things because of this sport. I have gained time management skills, a great form of exercise and so many friends.