Gymnastics

I started gymnastics when I was 7, not knowing the sport would take over my life for the next 10 years. I remember my gym classes were so fun—what 7-year-old wouldn’t love running around and doing flips 3 hours a week? By the time I was 11, I was competing level 5 and loving everything gymnastics-related. The sport was a big time commitment; I was practicing 12 hours a week along with a few hours of dance and tennis. My true passion for gymnastics was realized when I got so busy I had to pick one sport to stick with and could not imagine my life without gymnastics.

Gymnastics has its advantages and disadvantages. I’ll start with the positives. As a gymnast, you learn to listen and follow directions very well. Your coach is the voice of authority and your mentor as well. I think that my relationship with my coach helped me do better in school, allowing me to listen and learn from my teachers. Another positive: gymnastics is a great way to stay in shape—I had a six-pack of abs before I was 10! I was a bundle of muscle and was almost the pull-up champion of my 6^th grade P.E. class (yes, I’m still proud of that). My gymnastics team was my second family and I loved spending the second half of my day with them. Gymnastics taught me how to work hard and push myself past my own limits. Again, I feel that these characteristics have spilled over into my daily life, especially as a college student.

With the pros come many cons as well. Risks are high when it comes to flipping on a 4-inch wide balance beam or tumbling across the floor and trying to land perfectly. I suffered 3 broken fingers, a fractured tibia, a torn tricep muscle, and multiple ankle sprains throughout my 10 years as a gymnast. My hands were calloused and ripped up from bars and I was sore most days from practice. Punishments given by my coach were brutal when I couldn’t do a skill she asked me to do. Practices were at times filled with tears and fear of doing specific skills and flips.

Looking back at my life as a gymnast, I sometimes wonder why I put myself through the sport when I recall the negative side. But even though I hated the sport at times, I cannot imagine my life without all those memories. Gymnastics helped me meet my best friends, give me life skills, and provide me with some of the greatest moments ever. I have still yet to part with the sport—I’m active with TCU Gymnastics club and try to visit my old gym when I’m back home. Gymnastics will always be a big part of me and has shaped who I am…and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

"Three essentials: Know what you are doing. Love what you are doing. Believe in what you are doing."