The Rush of a Lifetime

And successful it was.  Not only did gymnastics teach me so much about the sport, I learned so many life lessons.  It taught me time management, because I was practicing 6 days a week on top of going to school, and I had no choice but to make sure everything was done in a timely manner.  It also taught me discipline, which is what I am the most thankful for.  Since I was in the gym so much I didn’t have time to get into trouble.  My teammates became my best friends…no, sisters.  We spent all our free time together…well, whatever free time we had.  We had practice Monday through Thursday, and had competitions on the weekend.  The competitions were the best part.  I got such a high being out on the floor doing what I did best knowing everyone was watching me.  My dad would always tell me that the nervous feeling I got right before I would compete was one of the best feelings.  He said that he wished he could experience that feeling again in life, and that I should cherish every moment of that rare feeling.  And so I did.  I embraced every moment of the pit in the bottom of my stomach mixed with fluttering butterflies and the heavy breathing.  In fact, it actually had a way of calming me down.  When I first started competing, I was so nervous I almost forgot my routines.  Being only 8 years old and having the entire audience watching me, and the judges writing down every single thing I did wrong was extremely intimidating.  To my surprise however, it was rather easy to get used to.  Eventually, I became a natural out on the competition floor, but there was nothing like the rush of waiting to hear my name called up to the podium for awards.