Find your passion

 

I don\’t even know how to begin to explain how swimming has impacted my life over the last 14 years. During that time, it has been my stress-reliever, my therapy, my escape, and basically a second home. It has gotten me through a lot of low points, and has been there for many high points. It\’s not just a form of exercise, to me, it\’s my way of life.
I joined the Watertown Area Swim Club (WASC) when I was 10 years old. I joined because my best friend was in swimming and she made it sound like so much fun, I had to join and get a piece of the action myself. I was hooked immediately, and soon I was ditching other sports for swim practice and meets. My parents eventually quit trying to convince me to try other sports because I would always choose swimming over them; none of the other sports even compared to how I felt in the water. I continued swimming with WASC through middle school and high school, and I honestly don\’t know what I would have done if I didn\’t. Almost all of my friends were from swimming, and I would have been pretty lonely had I never joined the team. I’ve always been pretty quiet and shy, and I’m not very good at making new friends; but connecting with people who were also passionate about swimming allowed me to bond with them, and get comfortable around them and really open up. I’ll be honest, I really didn’t enjoy high school, but my friends at swim practice definitely got me through a lot. We were always there for each other whenever we were going through a hard time. 

 

When I went off to college, I knew I had to keep swimming in my life somehow. I had heard “horror stories” about how difficult college swimming was, and that combined with a hip injury I had gotten in high school, I decided not to try out for any college teams. Luckily, George Mason had a swim club that I could join. This was probably one of my favorite parts of college. It was because of swimming on the club team that I made a ton of new friends, many of whom I still hang out with today. Remember in my last post where I said I traveled all over the East Coast and even in other countries? That was all because of swimming or through people I met while on the club team. Swimming on the club team at Mason brought me so many good memories, and it allowed me to continue having a place where I could escape the real world for a little while and get lost in the water. 

Even today, I still swim a few times a week with the Master’s team at George Mason. I’ve realized that I can’t go more than a couple of months without getting in the pool, and getting my swimming fix in. Other forms of exercise are good for me, but no where near as fun as swimming, and I get bored! Exercising by yourself can get boring at times, and the team aspect of swimming with Master’s makes working out so much more enjoyable. Swimming with the team has brought me even more friends, and I love that I can continue making bonds with other passionate swimmers throughout every stage of my life. 

Like I said earlier, swimming is my therapy, and my escape. What is your escape? What is that one thing that no matter where life takes you, and no matter what stage of life you are in, you can’t live without? Do you know? If not, try something you’ve always wanted to do, and find something that you are truly passionate about. Make time to do it, and meet new people along the way. Everyone needs time to do things for themselves and just get away from the real world for a little while. Step out of your comfort zone if you must! Time is short, go out and do the things you love, and see where they can take you. It may even lead to other adventures you don’t even know you want to take yet. And if anyone wants to come try swimming, hit me up! 

Thanks for reading! Until next time 🙂 

Megan Reiffenberger