Athletics Scholarship

When people imagine sports, their minds fill with images of trophies, team celebrations, and the sounds of crowds cheering. These are great things, but they only account for a small portion of what it takes to play sports. I’ve been part of sports my whole life, specifically, I am a competitive swimmer. Like most athletes, I love to win, but it takes a lot of work to win. All the tough work I’ve invested has improved my life and character. Being an athlete has shaped my character. It has helped me become a more disciplined and independent person. Since I was about twelve, I’ve had practice at five am twice weekly. The only reason my parents would wake up was to drive me to practice. Everything else I had to do on my own. I wake myself up, make myself breakfast, and get ready to go, and I had to do it with no aid. While it felt like a chore initially, as I’ve grown, I’ve realized that being able to take care of myself has helped repair me for my life ahead. Once I get to college, my parents will not be there to make me breakfast, or wake me up for class, but it will not be a sudden change, because I’m already used to being independent. I can take care of myself because sports have pushed me to be that way. Competitions are the livelihood of sports and as a competitive swimmer, I’ve lived through many swim meets. Getting prepared for these meets takes self-discipline, another characteristic sports have pushed on me. While Your coaches can tell you what it takes to be ready for a competition, only you can control what you do. Improvement requires discipline. I’d love to be like other high schoolers and stay up late and go to parties, but I know I have practice in the morning and a swim meet next weekend. I do what is necessary to improve. While it’s tough, the payoff is worth it. My friends may call me a grandma for going to bed at nine, but other swimmers know me as a state champion. If I wasn’t a swimmer, I would not have learned self-discipline. Overall, being an athlete caused me to develop skills and characteristics that will help me in life. I’ve grown up being more independent than my non-athlete peers. This will help my transition to college life. Sports have caused me to have self-discipline. I’m already used to having to display self-control over my choices, because I’ve already learned how my choices can affect my life. Being an athlete has helped me become a more mature person and has helped prepare me for life beyond athletics.