“If I were Shannon Miller this would not happen,” I often thought as I positioned my body onto the bar.
I hated heights and even being a few feet in the air on the highest uneven bar unsettled me. It seemed as if I were on the peak of a mountain top and my oxygen supply was thinning out. Each exhale made me dizzier and before you know it, I would be climbing down in a hurry, anxious to see my score even though I knew it would be low. I hated the fear I felt about practicing on the bars and how I believed that I would end up like my older teammate Chanel, who recently had surgery on both of her knees due to an awful fall in the last competition. She could no longer aspire to be like the “Magnificent 7”, the USA team who won gold in the 1996 Olympics.
I witnessed several injuries during that same competition and each was more severe than the last. As I watched another one of my …show more content…
Sharps and flats on the sheet music were like my close relatives; therefore, music became my safe haven as I had nothing to fear. Ironically, I soon had a new “Magnificent 7” in mind who weren’t gymnasts but instead classical composers: Chopin, Rachmaninoff, Grieg, Liszt, Beethoven, Brahms, and Debussy.
My current passion shows that my past and future goals are very diverse. My path with gymnastics was based on me wanting to be someone else. I was striving for an unattainable goal because I didn’t work towards any form of progression. On the other hand, being an instrumentalist has taught me the importance of daily goals, a good work ethic, and dedication. With that in mind, I am becoming more aware that music is not just the notes on an staff but also the zipping of a jacket and even the tumbling on a trampoline floor.
I believe that my five year old self would be proud of who I am becoming because I have already completed my personal goals instead of lacking improvement in the shadows of someone
I hated heights and even being a few feet in the air on the highest uneven bar unsettled me. It seemed as if I were on the peak of a mountain top and my oxygen supply was thinning out. Each exhale made me dizzier and before you know it, I would be climbing down in a hurry, anxious to see my score even though I knew it would be low. I hated the fear I felt about practicing on the bars and how I believed that I would end up like my older teammate Chanel, who recently had surgery on both of her knees due to an awful fall in the last competition. She could no longer aspire to be like the “Magnificent 7”, the USA team who won gold in the 1996 Olympics.
I witnessed several injuries during that same competition and each was more severe than the last. As I watched another one of my …show more content…
Sharps and flats on the sheet music were like my close relatives; therefore, music became my safe haven as I had nothing to fear. Ironically, I soon had a new “Magnificent 7” in mind who weren’t gymnasts but instead classical composers: Chopin, Rachmaninoff, Grieg, Liszt, Beethoven, Brahms, and Debussy.
My current passion shows that my past and future goals are very diverse. My path with gymnastics was based on me wanting to be someone else. I was striving for an unattainable goal because I didn’t work towards any form of progression. On the other hand, being an instrumentalist has taught me the importance of daily goals, a good work ethic, and dedication. With that in mind, I am becoming more aware that music is not just the notes on an staff but also the zipping of a jacket and even the tumbling on a trampoline floor.
I believe that my five year old self would be proud of who I am becoming because I have already completed my personal goals instead of lacking improvement in the shadows of someone