Everyday after school I would walk into the locker room and change into my swimsuit. Then I would grab my swim cap and my water bottle and slowly walk into the pool. The overwhelming smell of chlorine would fill my nose, and I could feel my nerves filling me up inside, looking for a way out. I would take a deep breath and shove my nerves as far down as I could, trying not to let any escape through my eyes. Diving practice was about to begin, and I needed to be confident. I did the same stretching routine that I did before practice everyday, and warmed up with a few jumps off the board while wondering what dive I would have to work on first. At some point during practice, I knew I would have to do the dive that scared me most, the reverse. My coach would come over to tell me what to work on, and I could feel my nerves pushing on my chest. “Start with reverses,” he said. As I walked away I felt a drip down my cheek, as I tried to blink away the tears. I made a goal to make it to state, and I knew I needed to complete this dive in order to do it, so I pushed my tears away and prepared to take on this fear.
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