Up until sixth grade, I dedicated all my time to gymnastics and school work. I believed that as long as I was doing gymnastics and keeping myself at the top of my class, my whole life would just fall into place. In sixth grade, Covid hit. This is when I began to see gymnastics as more of a repetitive chore than a fun sport. While I used to take a deep breath and try again after failing to complete a skill, I was now angered at the fact that I wasn’t immediately perfect at something I had been doing since I was three. At that point in time, I decided it was in my best interest to step away from gymnastics and start a new chapter of my life. 

When the Covid restrictions were lifted, I was in eighth grade. Numerically, the days between sixth and eighth grade seemed very long and jumbled but the jump in maturity levels and my understanding of the world happened fast. In some ways, I think this was good for me because I was forced to learn how to adapt, but in other ways, this convinced me that if I didn’t move at a quick pace, I’d fall behind. 

Throughout eighth and ninth grade, I began writing. This taught me to not expect to be immediately perfect at everything, and while I still struggle with this as a sophomore, I’ve noticed a constant improvement. I hope that I’m able to reach people who have or are experiencing similar circumstances and help them learn that this process is not something they are supposed to just accept immediately, but a process to learn more about themselves and their true desires.