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Note: This may be the one and only time I highlight someone that is not a runner. The following is an essay I wrote for an assignment in my BYU-I English class.
Ann the Swimmer
Ann is a young
woman from my ward and an exemplary member of my Church. I spoke to her recently about her love affair
with swimming. I began our conversation by asking her why she joined the swim
team at her highschool, because for the life of me I could not figure out why
anyone would want to be a swimmer. She told me she was looking for something
challenging to do and a friend of hers had asked if she would be interested in
joining the team. With only days before the season started Ann agreed and
informed her family she was going to be on the swim team—no questions asked. She
was going to do something hard that turned out to be an inspirational
experience.
Ann has a sweet
face, fair skin, and bright blue eyes. Most
notably, she has a head full of thick long locks of golden curly hair, worn in
a way that frames her youthful and shy smile. She has powerful shoulders, a
curvy feminine figure, and legs that resemble a soccer player. She comes from a
proud Norwegian heritage combined with Scottish and Irish roots. She’s an
athlete and loves the physicality of her sport, but doesn’t look like what you
would expect a swimmer to look like. I asked her if that ever presented a
problem for her and she said, of course it did. “For the first few days I wore
shorts and a t-shirt over my bathing suit.” she went on to say, “That only
slowed me down.” Ann told me she had to get over her insecurities if she was
going to excel as a swimmer.
Ann’s mom told
me how impressed she was by the swim coach. “He was so good at recognizing what
each swimmer was good at and bringing the best out of each of them,” she said.
She worried about her daughter and exclaimed, “As a plus size girl you would
never catch me standing in front of the school in nothing but a swimsuit!” But
that was one of the things that impressed her most about Ann and the entire
experience. She said that everyone, the athletes, coaches, and even the other
parents were all so supportive of each other and the kids on the teams. There
was no mocking or making fun of each other. Everyone recognized the difficulty
and technicality of the sport. “What’s harder, standing in front of your peers
in a swimsuit or finishing a race?” I asked, already knowing the answer. Ann replied
with a smile, “Finishing the race was definitely harder.”
Spending five to
six days a week for several hours at a time in the water was certainly trying,
but that is one of the things Ann likes most about her sport. She enjoys the
feeling of being wiped out at the end of her training sessions. She enjoys
pushing herself to new limits both physically, mentally, and even spiritually.
In a recent sacrament talk, Ann shared a story that involved her leaping off of
the diving blocks at the shallow end of a competing school’s pool, only to slam
into the bottom of it face first. When she resurfaced, she proceeded to finish the
race and get out of the water where her teammates pointed out just how bad she
had injured herself. She was concussed and bleeding from her face and shoulder.
She explained she felt it was important to finish what she started, and while
she didn’t come in first, she did what she set out to do. She related this to
the gospel and how life is not always peaches and cream. However, according to
religious teachings she and I share, we made a commitment before we came to the
earth to return to our Father in Heaven and that is what she intends to do. 
Not every girl
has the kind of confidence that Ann does. A recent survey conducted by the
National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders found that of
185 female college students, 58% felt pressure to be a certain weight, and out
of 83% that dieted for weight loss, 44% were of normal weight. This is systemic
of body image issues that start at a very early age. The NYC Girls Project says
that over 80% of 10-year-old girls are afraid of being fat and by the age of twelve
are dissatisfied with at least two of their body parts. The number of women
that are unhappy with the way they look is overwhelming. It was most alarming
at what age these body image issues start occurring, but Ann has proven to so
many that it doesn’t matter what you look like. “You don’t have to be the
fastest or skinniest to finish the race, you just have to give it your all.
Swimming may
never be the sport of my choice, and I may never understand the struggles a
young woman goes through as she works on becoming comfortable in her own skin.
But, I can understand what it is like to overcome challenges in this life. I
can relate to the struggles of doing hard things. I know what it feels like to
want to give up. I also know what victory feels like. Ann is a champion in more
ways than one. Her ability to power through tough circumstances is astonishing.
Her ability to let go of her insecurities is inspiring. Her mom told me Ann showed
her entire family that you can do hard things. She said, while each of her
children is different, they are all the same in that they can do hard things,
too. Ann has shown them what hard work and determination looks like and what a
winner looks like, as well.
Ann is no longer
swimming, as she has taken some time off to peruse academic challenges–including
several advance placement courses. When
I set out to interview Ann, I thought I was going to hear more about the ins
and outs of swimming, instead I learned the challenges we face are not always
the ones we imagine. Ann’s challenge wasn’t just the physicality of the sport;
it also included developing the self-confidence needed to achieve the goals she
desired most. Knowing we can all do hard things is an important lesson that
will manifest itself to us in many ways. The lessons we learn while we are
young are the ones that carry us through when we are old. Ann’s example is one
that will take her far and continue to inspire the people around her, swimmers
and non-swimmers alike.
