Personal Statement

I first learned how to swim in the Atlantic Ocean as an infant when I lived with my parents in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Little did I know back then the impact of what became my favorite activity would have on my entire life. When my family left Brazil, we moved to Puerto Rico where my “swimming pools” became the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. I loved the open water and loved swimming! When my family moved back to Albuquerque, I was confused because I didn’t see the beautiful water that I was accustomed to. My parents recognized early on that I was destined to be in the water so despite the lack of oceans and seas, they found the Bernalillo County Swim Team at our community pool. I was now able to continue my involvement in swimming

I used to just swim for the fun of it with my family but now I was actually being trained as an athlete and I was a part of a team. This was something new and very exciting for me as I was now in middle school and learning so many things. During this time swimming was to me, the first sport that allowed me to fail and succeed as an individual. It taught me how to manage my time both in and out of the water. As I entered high school and my studies grew more difficult I had to decide if I wanted to continue swimming and if I did, how would I divide my time in order to be successful as a student and an athlete. I was thankful for the different types of training I had endured through swimming because I feel like the balance of training for the different strokes of swimming helped me balance the difficulties of entering high school. Through my childhood club teams and now on my high school team I had many different teammates and they all taught me the value of being a team. I’ve always enjoyed the unique aspect of swimming as an individual and how my individual success helps my team be successful. This is something that I have carried into my daily life, though we may all be individuals we find the most success as a team. My swim coaches and teammates are an