Why I Like Swimming: Exploring My Passion for the Sport
Swimming is my passion (essay)
Swimming is not only a way to stay in shape, but it is also an activity that can be enjoyed by individuals of all ages. As I grew older, my love for swimming only increased. It became a way for me to clear my mind and focus on my goals. To discuss why I like swimming, in this essay I will delve into how swimming has helped me overcome difficult times in my life and has been a constant source of joy and comfort. Furthermore, swimming has also allowed me to form new friendships and develop a strong sense of camaraderie with other swimmers. I hope that by sharing my experiences with swimming, others will be inspired to try it out and discover the numerous benefits that come with this activity.
There are many reasons why I prefer swimming over all other sports. Basically, I have loved water ever since I was a child. Besides, swimming does not require fancy and expensive equipment. You just need a pair of goggles and swimming shorts and you ready to go. When I grew up and started to work out, I often swim in order to build cardio which is important for weight loss and gain strong health.
When I was nine, I didn't swim in the right form. But in competitive swimming, there are four strokes officially. My favorite stroke is freestyle because it is comfortable for me and I am the fastest in it. The other three are the backstroke, breaststroke, people usually call it a frog style because when you swim, you look like a little frog and the last is Butterfly. I started my swimming experience with the breaststroke (frog style) because it was an easy one to begin with for all people. To be honest, learning how to swim is not simple. It took effort and practiced to swim the right form and get faster. I remember the first day we swam in the water, after practice, I was exhausted and my arms and legs could not even move. On the second day, I thought about the reason to stay home but my willpower convinced me to go to practice. Days by days passed by, I got better and was mastered the breaststroke. Up to that point, I could able to start learning other strokes on my own. After four years, I swam just like a professional athlete and joined my city's swim team.
In order hand, swimming is not just about practice and competition. It gives you happiness through your body and makes your mind clear to recovery. Sometimes, I just went to a pool and relaxed after the hard day of school. Water flows me up. I have a feeling leave everything behind and I can get back to it when I want to. I recommend everyone should try someday. Just go to the pool and be yourself in the water.
My life had been changed in a positive way when I came to the U.S for the first time. It was so fun to meet new people and I had a chance to participate in real competition.
It was a dream to me and I felt it just like yesterday. I joined the P.E class in my junior year because it required. You know in P.E there are many sports you had to try and took. The first half-semester, we went through basketball, soccer, volleyball and the other half we took swimming. The teacher showed everyone the strokes like usual and everybody started to swim on a count. Compare to other students, I swam really fast and in the right form so he requested the swimming coach for me to join the team and the coach agreed with that. That was the best day of my life.
The journey began but it is tough. After the first day of practice, I couldn't go on my legs straightly. But my desire to swim is so huge. I encouraged myself to go back to the pool the next day and tried to catch up with my teammates. Day by day, month by month, with all my conscientious effort, my coach allowed me to compete in the tournament with another school.
The first time I had been to Syracuse High School is so impressive. They had really huge Olympic-size pool. It measures 50m approximately and which has eight lanes, 2.3m wide. The participants dive in from starting blocks, except for the backstroke, which is started in the pool. I swam in freestyle 100m races but my team participated in many distances and styles. The distances freestyle races in major championships are over 50m, 100m, 200m, 400m and 1500m for men. But we just did the first three and in the other three strokes, we raced over 100m and 200m. In the professional championship, there are medley races for men and women. Medley is a combination of four different styles in which each stroke is swum for 50m and 100m respectively, over 200m and 400m, the order being butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle. It means you begin with butterfly 50m or 100m and the same distance with the rest in order. It is really hard and consumes lots of energy so my team just did this in practice and we competed in each single stroke race. And my turn came, I was a little bit nervous but my buddy assured me:' You got this man'. I started on my block and I heard: 'On your mark, Set and Go'. I jumped down the block, swam as fast as I could and got back. I did really well and got the third in that race. I felt so excited and watched my team until the end. Later of that day, lots of practices and competitive days came by and we finished the tournament in runner-up. That is the most enormous success in my life until now.
Swimming is my passion. I loved it and I wanted to share with you guys because it is a life skill that saves lives and gives everyone great health and a happy attitude. Beneath the water is a different, complete world. It’s almost impossible to describe every aspect of it. I feel alive under the water. I feel free. I feel at home. I feel like myself. But most importantly I feel that my desire for success is greater than my fear of failure.
