Recently, I was sitting in my apartment, reading articles about swimming and crying. One of my roommates came in and asked me what was wrong, so I said "Oh, you know, the usual; just sitting here crying about almost being done with swimming." And then she asked me a question I really hadn’t put much thought into.

The question was, "What is it that you will miss most about swimming?" For me, the first thing that came to mind when pondering that question was the team aspect. Swimming is known as an individual sport and while that is true in many ways, have you ever tried swimming consistently without a team? It is one of the most boring things you could ever do.

I know that throughout life I will be on teams again: work teams, church teams, and a future family. But, nothing will ever compare to the feeling of acceptance and belonging that come with being part of an athletic team, specifically a swim team. I mean, what other team is completely comfortable regularly being half-naked with one another??? To the teams I have been on, both present and past, this is for you.

To the Whitesburg Tide, thank you for allowing me to start a journey that my love for swimming would flow through the years. From the girl who tried so many sports and failed, thank you for showing me what success felt like.

For teaching me how to wake up "early" in the summer when all my friends were sleeping in, better preparing me for the early mornings I would face with swimming in years to come. Thank you for showing me how to have friends that I only saw in the summer and was content with not seeing all school year because I knew the fun times we had in the summer made up for all of the time spent apart (Whitesburg superstars, whaddup).

For allowing me to have my first job, and learning early that there is more to a job than the salary (because we all know you don't work at Whitesburg for the great pay). Thank you for simply creating a consistently fun outlet for swimming every summer.

Huntsville Swim Association (HSA), thank you for challenging me in the pool. This is where the early morning practices really kicked in, making me stronger and faster. Thank you for allowing me to swim with people who were exponentially greater than me in the pool, thus pushing me to be better. For all of the locker room memories (schmanzo noodles, photoshoots, and drinking Cherry Coke in the shower) that I will hold onto forever.

Remember that time we all skipped practice to do my science experiment and go to Little Rosie’s? That probably wasn’t our best idea, but I know I will never forget it. We had friends come and go and occasionally they left and returned and oh did we celebrate!!! We endured Hell week in Blue Group every summer strictly in hopes of earning the promised Coach Tim t-shirts. And of course, once we made it to senior group, we endured running around the ghetto praying for the Lord to spare our lives.

Shoutout to Grissom High state champs 08' & 2-peat best losers 10' and 11'

The memories are endless, but HSA, you gave me a glimpse into what dedication and determination mean, along with forever friendships and relationships. So for that, I eternally thank you.

My last and present swim team isn’t a team; it is a family. To my beloved Asbury Eagles, this is not the end. As I write this, I am sitting on a bus surrounded by all of you, trying to hold it together. You mean more to me than you will ever know. You have taught me how to lead and how to love when it is time to humble myself and think of others first and how to deal with external conflict in a grace-filled, yet challenging way.

Thank you for the tears and for the endless laughter, I really cannot imagine my life without you all. To those I am leaving behind, enjoy every second. Never wish it away because it will be gone before you know it. When you think it’s too hard to continue, remember that people have gone before you and paved the way, meaning you are more than capable of finding success.

Don’t get too wrapped up in the times you think you need to go. Learn to love it, learn to enjoy it, press into your teammates and I guarantee you will not regret it. Remember us (the seniors) when you are seniors and have to make hard choices for the team. You really will understand someday, I promise. I know you can do it and I believe that you are capable of doing so much more than you realize. You really will never find anything like this team again; I am forever impacted because of my time with you.

Through the ebbs and flows of my love for this sport, I can say that I started off loving swimming and I am ending my time loving swimming. I realize I am lucky. My journey with swimming couldn’t have ended in and at a better place. I am a better person because of the community I have experienced throughout my time as a swimmer. I will never look back and think of a specific set that I miss doing, what I will miss is the built-in friendships family that I saw every day and did insanely difficult physical activities with. Swimming, you were too good to me.

My time as a competitive swimmer is running high, but I am so thankful to have something in my life that makes saying goodbye so hard. Swimming will always be a part of me; I am forever indebted, in the best possible way, to the sport and its people.