The struggle was real let me tell you

This week all I had been doing was

            worrying about Friday

Nothing else was important, literally

            nothing! It consumed me

I felt terrible, unrested, and stresed

I felt conflicted, ashamed, and flawed

Up to this day I had felt confident

            in that which I achieved

Friday came; school was bothersome

My mind only focussed on the stress

Drowing in fear, oh the irony of that

Driving to the meet was a continuous

            battle of the mind and body

Tears formed before I even entered

            the pool, let alone the water!

Smell of chlorine and fear onmipresent

Warm ups were a horrendous sight

Bawk! Bawk! Bawk! Quit chickening out!

Fear controlled. I was a puppet

Every action I took, the puupet master

           would do the exact opposite

So many people encouraging me with

           words of wisdom and kindness

Even still I smacked my side, front, back

           you name it I smacked it!

Talk about starting from the bottom

Diving starts, first dive; I wash over, 2.5

I race over to the board to earn a 3

Watching girls get 6's and 7's while I

           earn 2's and 3's crushed me

Completing more dives, I stood with fear

           of what was next to come

Rachel now doing a front flip tuck

Heart pounding, mind racing, eyes watching

I walk off the board eyes closed; success

I completed the dive; it was a miracle

Tears formed before I even surfaced

          to a proud coach and number 3

I made it through my first dive meet

Not failing any dives, placing 8th overall

Scoring a low 92, but achieving something

         far better than any score that day

I achieved confidence, courage, and strength

A strating point; from there I can only go up

Now a year later looking back with nostalgia

I can't stop smiling, remembering how i felt

          after that awful flip how proud I was

Today I can throw a 1 and a half

As tough as my first meet was, it is my inspiration

Thinking of what I accomplished that day

Nothing can stand in my way now not even fear

This is my story of how I started from the bottom

          now I'm here; in a Varsity Dive Jacket