I have learned a lot looking back on my three weeks in India. I have learned how to live and function in a new culture, make some new dishes, and communicate with the people in our community. While all these things are important to me, the students I taught reminded me that sports are about having fun and should not always be centered around winning.
“After trying to teach them proper technique in soccer and volleyball time after time, I realized that they did not care about winning; sports was their opportunity to have fun for the day…This reminded me of why I decided to swim. I did not start swimming because I wanted to win. I started swimming because I enjoyed it.”
Part of my ACE program was playing sports with the students daily at The Vidya School. While, the students did not always win, they always had fun. After trying to teach them proper technique in soccer and volleyball time after time, I realized that they did not care about winning; sports was their opportunity to have fun for the day. This was hard for me to understand because most of my life has been devoted to being the best I can possibly be at swimming so I can win and swim in college. This reminded me of why I decided to swim. I did not start swimming because I wanted to win. I started swimming because I enjoyed it.
Watching the kids enjoying being able to play sports showed me how lucky I am to be able to continue doing what I enjoy at the collegiate level. If I ever have a bad meet or practice I will not take it as hard on myself because I am still doing what I enjoy.