Dear Swimming,
I don’t even know where to begin! We have spent the past 15 years together and it has been a crazy adventure from the start. My very first memory I remember of you was the day I signed up. I had come home from school with a swimming flyer and a soccer flyer. I was super excited to try swimming, so my parents took me to sign up. After we were done signing up, the lady said we could peek in the pool and check it out. I had never been to this pool and was eager to take a look. When my mom opened the door, I felt the rush of hot air and the smell of chlorine hit my face. I saw all the high school kids gathered on the pool deck finishing up their practice and could not wait for my first practice.

When I started swimming, I didn’t realize how much you would mean to me and how much you would impact my life. You were the thing that I put all my free time into. I missed some things growing up like sleepovers or school sporting events because of meets or practice. However, in the back of my head I knew that if I gave you all of this time and effort you would make it all worth it.

You taught me a lot of lessons along the way. You taught me how to be patient with teammates and those who have never swam before. You taught me how to stay organized and, thanks to some help from my parents, you taught me time management because if all my homework wasn’t done, I couldn’t go to practice (and I was not about to miss a practice!). You taught me about heartbreak before I even thought about dating with my first disqualification for doing a one-handed touch on breaststroke. You also taught me how to deal with change and that sometimes it is for the best. I kept pouring my time and effort into you all through middle and high school and a small part of me started to wonder if it was actually going to be worth it.

The summer before senior year I thought about giving up on you. I had put so much into you and the new coach we got, I really didn’t like. His sets were always distance freestyle (which I hated) and I wasn’t having fun anymore. Then the idea of college swimming came to mind and I decided to stick with you a little longer and allow this change to be for the better. I did my research and found myself in West Virginia at this little school thirty minutes south of my cousin called Fairmont State University. The minute I stepped on the campus for visitation day I knew this was going to be home for the next four years. I met with Coach Pat Snively and the team and fell in love. My parents and I stayed to watch a meet and afterwards I started a countdown to August.

In college, you opened my eyes to a whole bunch of new things. I was now almost four hours from home in a very unfamiliar place with people that were a lot different then me. The first couple weeks were rough but once I got back into the pool everything fell into place. The team here became my West Virginia family and this little town of Fairmont became one of my favorite places in the world.

The transition from high school you to college you was a big one. The amount of effort and time I had to give you doubled from what I was used to but my love for you had come back and I could not have been happier. You taught me that college swimming was going to be the most fun I have ever had. The way the team comes together for one common goal and cheers you on with all their heart is something you can’t get from anyone or anything else. Junior year you showed us what hard work, dedication, and a lot of heart can do for a team. You gave the girls team a conference championship. We were 2018 Mountain East Conference Champions and it was the greatest feeling in the world. You finally made all the time and effort worth it and I could not be more grateful. At the end of that year however, you taught me another lesson. You took the team I had been with for the past three years and sent them away. My friends got spread out across the neighboring states, and you sent my best friend back home to Poland. My family was now spread out across the world. This was a change caused by you which made me hate you for a little bit.

Going into senior year I wasn’t sure how things were going to go. All my friends were gone and there were only two seniors left. Arthur, who had transferred in the previous year and was originally from Portugal, and me. The plus side to this was that Arthur had been there last year and had lost friends too, so we could at least relate a little. He also knew what it took to get a championship and we were both worried our best year had passed. You had given us seven freshman and a junior transfer, and I was worried about the team. We had a handful of growing pains and you tested my patience. Once it hit October, I realized we needed to have a team meeting. We needed to get everyone on the same page and tell the freshman they were in the big leagues now. After the meeting things got a little better and after our training trip, I felt like you had helped us finally all get to where we wanted. We had finally come together as a family and raced with everything we had on Senior Day. I was proud of this team and felt like we were close to last year’s championship team and it was all thanks to you. You were the one who brought us together and showed us that in order to get the reward you have to put in the work.

I want to thank you for all the lessons you have taught me. If little six-year-old me wouldn’t have signed up for you I doubt I would be the person I am today. I want to thank you for giving me all the amazing coaches I have had over the years. They have taught me and helped me so much over the years. I want to thank you for letting me find Coach Pat and this awesome team here at Fairmont State. I want to thank you for opening my eyes up to everything the world has to offer. I never would have imagined I’d have friends from Poland, Brazil, Portugal, Spain, and West Virginia. They are my best friends who have taught me so much and have become my family. These guys truly are the greatest family I could have ever asked for and I wouldn’t have found them if it wasn’t for you.

This isn’t the end of the road for our friendship. I plan to stick with you for a while but will be switching how I look at you. I think it’s time I write some difficult sets that will pull a team closer together and I want to teach some kids everything you have taught me.

Thank you again. You will always be what makes me, me and I am forever grateful.

Love,
Maddy Beekler
Fairmont State University