Maria Wojakowski
Age: 13
St. Anthony - St. Alphonsus School
Brooklyn, New York

I started swimming competitively at the age of eleven, two years ago. From the first swim team practice, I loved the sport, but I soon found out how fierce the competition was, even in our own neighborhood YMCA swimming pool. To my surprise, it was hard to become part of the team. My coach, thinking highly of my talent immediately directed me to the fast lane. There I warmly greeted six suspicious, sour faces, and my greeting was not returned. Of course I swam much slower than they and they tolerated me for a few day, but the first day that the coach was absent, and our instruction was left to a volunteer, my "lane mates" started to carry out their master plan and their goal was to get me out of their lane. My teammates succeeded, and I swam in the middle lane for a few months until I was accepted into their lane. Nevertheless, they learned from their mistakes and today they are my best friends.

We laugh when we talk about this story now, but it wasn't so funny two years age. We never treated a new team member like that again, and today our team conveys to everyone that we truly are a "team." Despite out training conditions, a small thirteen yard pool compared to the twenty-five yard pools of other teams, together we have achieved many goals and lived dreams that we expected to stay only dreams. We made it to New York State YMCA Swimming Championships in Cortland last year, and it was one of the best experiences of my life. During those three days, I felt the spirit of competition and excitement for myself and for my teammates inside me. I found myself wishing the best to people who weren't even on my team. If every person in the world could experience that, then there would be no such thing as hate or prejudice in our world. That is the greatest gift that swimming has given me, an understanding of the people that I share this earth with. After that experience, no matter how much I dislike a person, I am unable to hate them. I think that is what athletics do to us, they unite us as one race, the human race.

Swimming has been to me quickly finishing my homework so that I can attend practice, waking up early in the morning to attend meets, resisting donuts when my friends were stuffing at least five of them into their mouths, waking up every morning to do push-ups, smelling like chlorine all day when I forgot my soap, and doing extra laps during Adult Lap to get my goal time on the next meet. It was plenty of hard work and many things that I had to give up, but that all seems diminutive when I am awarded ribbons or medals for my performances. This has helped me to have the same attitude in other areas of my life, such as school, music, and other clubs and activities. This makes me a better person. I learn to be organized and to succeed in all areas of my life. My active lifestyle leaves no time to do things that many kids today do because they have no interest, such as drugs, alcohol, and violence. Swimming increases my self-esteem and helps me excel in other areas of my life. I must listen closely to my coach's instructions in order to succeed in swimming. This has helped me listen well in school and therefore develop a good memory. Listening has also helped me in my piano studies to the extent that I can memorize a piece of music quickly after hearing or playing it only a few times. I find it very effective to swim to the beat of my piano music, whether it be Bach, Chopin, or Mozart. It helps me pace myself on my long-distance sets at practice and creates a good tempo for me to swim at during swim meets. When studying for a test, part of my work is done at home with my books, but this year I discovered that I can enforce what I have studied as I swim. I mentally recite the material as I do my workout, and as a result, give my mind a workout, as well as my body.

Swimming has helped me to become a better athlete and person through an activity that I enjoy. I have experienced the effects of positive competition. I have learned that fair competition is the best kind and should be the only kind. The whole fun involved in competition is destroyed when someone cheats. If more kids were involved in athletics, there would not be a problem with alcohol, drug use, and teen pregnancies. Swimming, like music, gave me somewhere to express my emotions; anger, joy, doubt, excitement, sadness, or disappointment. Swimming has enhanced my self-esteem and has propelled me to set goals and to achieve them. From my disappointments I have gained the strength to improve. Whether it be a personal best time, a medal, or self satisfaction, my sport has given me something to strive for and has shown me that anything is possible if you work hard for it. I have learned to be ambitious in other areas of my life. I have made friendships that I treasure above all material things and through them I have discovered that there is no "I" in "team." I have found an interest that will allow me to keep these accomplishments from the rest of my life in my personality and character, and hopefully to share them with other people. Would the world be different if more people had a chance to experience this? Yes. People would acquire a unity that is needed in our world. They would learn to set goals and achieve them. They would learn to be better people. They would know what it is like when a dream that you have had for as long as you can remember finally becomes reality and the emotions that you feel cannot be put into words. Watching the Olympics this year gave me the same feeling that I had at State Championships. Even though it is sometimes hard in the beginning, if you stay with it you will succeed. Not everyone makes it to the Olympics, but some athletes deserve more respect than Olympians because of their determination and ability to overcome obstacles, such as disabled or asthmatic athletes. Success really does come to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.