If someone told me in my freshman year that I would stop swimming, I would’ve called him or her crazy: swimming was my passion. I embraced the grueling hours, intense training, and early mornings. I loved swimming because it was challenging. It allowed me to push myself physically and mentally, and it gave me immense satisfaction. However, as I finished my sophomore winter season, an opportunity to start a landscaping company arose: I could either start this business or keep swimming. I contemplated doing both, but I learned from my afternoons on the tennis team that I could not be an elite swimmer and take time off – for anything. On one hand, I cherished every second of swimming. I loved the feeling of jumping into the frigid pool at 5am,
