"I stand off of the mat, awaiting the judge’s signal. The sun coming through a window illuminates the uneven parallel bars and you can see chalk floating in the air. Level 8 gymnastics state championships. My heart is pounding. The judge raises her hand, signaling me to go."
In retrospect, it is really cool to see how gymnastics has shaped me. At this point in my life, 50% has been spent participating and 75% total time spent associated with the sport (I have coached for going on 5 years now). It doesn't just teach you strength, endurance, flexibility and cool physics-defying skills. No. It is so much more than that. Just a few things I know I have taken from gymnastics include: teamwork, goal-setting, mental strength, determination, dedication... the list goes on and on.
When thinking about my personal statement for vet school, I realized how applicable and important this non-veterinary interest was to me. The paragraph above is actually the first paragraph of my personal statement, which I plan to submit to VMCAS next week. I decided to weave gymnastics into my statement, starting with that true story from my last competitive year.
Veterinary medicine requires basically all the skills I outlined above that gymnastics helped develop in me. I am not saying I am at an advantage, just that I am grateful for the opportunities I had as a kid. I always find myself telling my girls that I coach that they will learn SO much more after they are out of the sport. And it's true!
Gymnastics is a big part of who I am. I know it has and will pay off for my future in veterinary medicine.
I thought I would share some of my old gymnastics pictures as well :-)
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| Level 4 competition (wonder how many points I lost for that toe point!) |
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| I met Olympic gymnast Amanda Borden at a gymnastics camp! |
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| My first Level 7 floor routine was to Ricky Martin's "The Dub of Life" |
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| Level 7 Beam |
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| Level 8 Floor |
Wow! Go Manda! Go Manda!!
ReplyDeleteI remember those days like they were yesterday. :-)
ReplyDelete