Swimming
Used to swim competitively in regional tournaments but has retired and mostly swim for fun
How I got into it
As a small kid, it was difficult for me to pick a sport that suited me. From an early age, I have always seen myself as a competitive kid but none of the sports I tried really stuck with me. Be it badminton, football, basketball, golf or any other sport.
But one time, me and my brother went to try out swimming in a group and I really enjoyed it. This was the moment that I decided to try out swimming. This turned out to be a very good decision as I progressed fast through out and skipped many divisions throughout the club I vividly remembered that I even skipped 2 stages of classes one time because of how fast I was improving.
Where I am now
After my high school years, I was in a bit of a limbo. Either I can choose to continue my carrier as a swimmer and potentially go pro or I can focus on my academics. This choice during this period got pretty clear over the couple of years being a competitive swimmer with me not wanting to pursue pro I have massive respect to those athletes that have to dedicate their entire life on the sport, that have to maintain their body and have to be very cautious about what they eat. I couldn't see myself living the life of a professional athlete that has to swim every day, maybe twice a day, balance meals and to strength training for the chance of being a pro. The vision for me as an athlete is that it's not worth it if I don't become one of the best and that meant I needed to dedicate my soul for the sport.
I realised at the end of my competitive swimming carrier that my motivation had dropped exponentially which was shown in my enthusiasim for the training and the results. My groupmate started to improve faster than I did and I hit a point where I was no longer the best, but just average. This was the moment that I realised that I will pursue and concentrate on my academics and drop out of the swim group
What it gives me
Being a swimmer for almost a decade have made me resilient, self diciblined and independant.
With only you, your body and your mind during training is how I learned to have myself to rely on.