This I Used To Believe Essay

This I Used To Believe: The Life of a Gymnast

            I salute the judges in eager anticipation of the routine I am about to perform. I readjust my grips, inhale sharply, and bound off the board. My hands grip the bar like an eagle clasping a salmon. I kip and bring myself to a standing position on the low bar. I stretch forth my arms and jump to the high bar. Instantly, I kip cast to handstand swing down and do a half turn which is then connected into a shootover (which brings me back down to the low bar) followed by a hect (shooting me back up to the high bar). I inhale casually as I hit the bar knowing I am almost done. Relying on muscle memory I do a kip cast to handstand followed by a full twisting giant. I prep for the dismount with another giant and a rush of endorphins come bellowing through giving me a final kick of energy. Then I let go and propel my body into the air by doing a full twisting double back. I take a little step on the landing, but regain my confidence and salute the judges. Another routine down, I take off my grips and head over to beam to start warming up.

            Gymnastics was my life for a solid ten years. I trained five hours a day and six days a week. At the beginning it wasn’t always this intense. When I first started it was fun, easy, and nobody judged you on whether or not your toes where pointed when you did a cartwheel. The sport was new and all my friends were doing it so it made sense that I continued. My journey through the world of gymnastics definitely changed my personal actions and my motives behind what I do. Looking back now I realize that the skills I demonstrated on a daily basis were astounding. It’s not every day that you see a nine year old girl doing back flips on the balance beam, but that is gymnastics. Parents will usually enroll their children in classes to enhance their development or release extra energy with no intention of committing to the sport. Those that do however, eventually their mindset changes over the years from one of going to the gym to be with friends and goofing around to doing gymnastics to further their education and it becomes an expectation.

            My expedition started on a progressive level. I was six years old and one of my best friends, Whitney Miceli, did gymnastics and I wanted to be just like her so I asked my mom. My mom knew the sport rather well and told me I couldn’t join until I could do one hundred pushups and sit-ups. When I reached my goal my mom enrolled me in classes. Three weeks passed and the coaches advanced me to level 4 (which is the very first level that gymnasts start to compete). Not only was I proud to have my very own uniform, but I was also excited to show off all of the skills that I had learned. Over the years I excelled through the levels and eventually made my way to level 10 (which is college level). My viewpoints of gymnastics did not truly start changing until I was a level 10.

            Each level in gymnastics requires certain skills that must be competed in order to be that specific level. Without a doubt, certain skills take longer to acquire to muscle memory than others. For example, a yurchenko layout full is more difficult to master than a round off or perhaps a back handspring layout step out on the balance beam compared to a front handspring over the vault table. So as the levels increase so do the skills and the amount of training time. In order to excel in gymnastics, I put in a minimum of twenty-five hours a week not including extra weight training and dance classes. This strenuous schedule was difficult to say the least. Even so that I would only attend five of the seven classes I had in middle school and five out of the six in high school so that way I could make it to practice. Due to the missing classes in my schedule I would also take online classes which taught me time management. Although gymnastics was incredibly demanding in this aspect it was important to reach my full potential in the long term.

            Injuries take a toll on any athlete, but gymnasts push their bodies to the limits and then some. For example, over the summer (before my sophomore year in high school) I was training release moves on bars, to be more specific giengers. So, I jump to the high bar from the low bar, kip, cast to handstand, swing down, let go, do a layout (a flip with straight legs) with a half turn, and then catch the bar again. This skill wasn’t always successful though there were many times when my hands would be millimeters away from the bar and I would plummet to the ground sending millions of chalk particles into the air that would rain upon my doubts of ever being able to the catch the bar. However, on one occasion I landed incredibly weird and tweaked my back. I thought it was nothing so I continued to train as usual.

            Now a month went by and there was still pain, but I had to become adapted to it. I accepted it like a present on Christmas morning. In my mind there was no gain without pain. So I considered it normal. Sure my intake of ibuprofen and icing had increased to everyday, but once an athlete reaches a certain level that is expected. Anyways, as the months continued on so did the pain and at this point my mom became rather concerned. She then took me into the doctors where they examined my back with x-rays which confirmed their beliefs. I had several stress fractures in the lumbar section of my spine. They also told me I could no longer continue my training as a gymnast unless I wanted to begin fusing some of the vertebrae, making bending just an intangible idea. My world was crushed. All of the years, the corrections, the stretching, strengthening, tears, sweat, and hard work all gone because of one x-ray of three vertebrae.

            My journey through gymnastics taught me so many things along the way starting from the beginning all the way to the end. One, was to never take anything for granted because you never know how long you will be able to do it. With all of the injuries I endured, whether it was tendonitis in my shoulders or the countless sprains and broken bones my final breaking point was my back and that was one of the hardest things I had to except. The memories of doing those skills each and every day for years is miraculous, but goes to show that no matter the circumstance enjoy every minute because before you know it, it can be all gone. Number two, if you work hard enough and are determined enough goals can be achieved. Making it to nationals wasn’t easy, but my focus and excessive hours of training helped me get to that point. Sure, there were times when my hands were bleeding form the bars, but if I did not push through and hit that last routine than I wouldn’t have improved from the day before. Number three, leadership and responsibility. Gymnastics is both an individual as well as a team sport. Being a leader to those around you is huge especially the example that is set. For example, being on time to practice or doing the correct amount for skills and strength exercises. Doing the little things makes all of the difference.

            Gymnastics consumed every fiber of my being for over ten years of my life until I could no longer do it. When I first started I thought it was fun to be hanging out with friends and running around, but overtime this idea developed and flourished into how gymnastics will benefit my future. At first I thought it was college, but it is so much more than that. It is the life lessons I learned of confidence in myself, the mentality of a leader, the knowledge of hard work, the responsibility to do what is expected and then go the extra mile, and last would be to never take anything for granted. Gymnastics wasn’t just a sport that I did, it was a sport that I excelled at and shaped me into the person that I am today. Sure it wasn’t what I had anticipated when I asked my mom to become a gymnast, but neither are most things we do in life. It’s about the journey.