How many of you would absolutely love spending less time on homework? Oh ok, I see some hands there… How about eat almost anything you wanted? Wow, a lot of hands. But hold on, there’s more. How many of us would voluntarily get in a frigid pool at 5 in the morning, running on four hours of sleep? How about saying “Sayonara” to the sun for three months? What about having an enraged, meticulous, fire-breathing dragon down your neck every time one detail is off? Oh yes, living the life.

What is this wonderful fantasy? It’s a lifestyle called swimming. The suffering these unusual creatures called swimmers endure through is fairly large. Although there are many other sports out there bragging to be the toughest sport on the playground, there are few that dare to approach swimming. All the rumors you have heard are true. We DO have to wake up at 4:30 in the morning. We DO have a coach that is as mad as a hatter. We DO have to be in an icebox we call a pool for up to five hours a day. But why do we do it? I don’t mean to toot my own horn, but here comes a symphony of tunes.

It makes us feel good. We feel so accomplished when we do it. Those grueling practices we put ourselves through? We can say “we did it” when we’ve finished the agonizing workouts. Those swim meets that take up the whole weekend? We know we’ve put our very best effort into them. Those mornings where we can barely drag ourselves out of bed? We know we’ll look back and be proud of what we’ve accomplished. Us swimmers know that we can put our minds to do anything we want if we just put the effort in.

Next time you wonder what kind of drugs we could be on to allow ourselves through what sounds like misery, just remember that it’s not always about the early mornings and grueling practices, but about the little victories we win within ourselves everyday.