Bailey Nasstrom, 11th, Osage High School, (Non-:iction

Bailey Nasstrom, 11th, Osage High School, (Non-fiction)

"What A Ride"

I am one of the only two swimmers in Osage High School, not the kind where you are splashing around in the kiddie pool, but a competitive swimmer. My freshman year was my first year swimming, with a real team, and to say it was completely petrifying would be an understatement. I was swimming with just one other girl from Osage, who I had never talked to before. She was my ride to and from practice every day, the last thing I possibly wanted was for her to not like me.

It was 4:30 am when I arose from my melatonin-induced sleep, the first day of practice. My hands were shaking as I put on my swimsuit I set out the night before. This was my brand new bright purple swimsuit that I bought extremely overpriced. It was Jolyn, tied in the back and was the most popular style I saw at the swim camp I went to that summer. I sat on my bed mindlessly scrolling through Instagram trying to pass time, as I was too nervous to eat, when I got the dreaded text.

Amanda was at my house rearing and ready to go. I quickly made my way into her car and gave her a chirpy, “Hey!” It had just a bit too much pep for five in the morning. I put my swim bag in her back seat and got buckled. We began driving and I soon realized that I was the only one that looked like they took a shot of five-hour energy. I sat as quietly as possible in the passenger seat, my leg bouncing up and down with nerves and my fingers woven tightly together. My stomach tied itself into knots as I tried to gather up the courage to finally talk to Amanda. Attempting to make conversation I asked, “So, what is the coach like?” Amanda explained that she wasn’t sure if the new coach was very good because it was his first year. It settled my nerves just a bit, knowing that I wouldn’t be the only person unfamiliar with others on the team.

I attempted to relax, but it seemed to be extremely difficult. My job in the passenger seat was to tell Amanda if we were in the other lane. I pursued casual small talk while silently fearing for my life, when I found out that her grandmother bought her an emergency call button for her car. After gaining that knowledge, I had my arm ready to press it at any moment. Amanda’s car had two solid plastic pink balls hanging from her mirror that were completely captivating. We were talking when suddenly the brakes were slammed. My first reaction was to grab the balls for dear life, and hope we don’t crash. I soon realized we were still moving and I slowly cracked open my eyes. I noticed that we had turned, instead of crashing off the side of the highway. My heart was thumping as loud as Jack Lowe on the bass drum.

We were getting closer and closer to Mason, my stomach felt like I ate a gallon of ice cream. It may have been car sickness, but I attributed it to being nervous. Then it hit me, I am going to a different town to swim with girls who I don’t even know. The worst part… I wasn’t even that amazing. In the summer of freshman year, I went to a swim camp at St. Olaf College. It was there where I refined my strokes and swam with other girls my age. It was one of the most unnerving things I had ever done in my life. Being at a camp in a different state with nobody else was a situation I had never been in before. I was the slowest swimmer in my lane and it was incredibly embarrassing. I was swimming with girls who swam varsity their 8th-grade year and I hadn't even been on a real team. The girls were extremely nice and talented, unfortunately, I was not quite as talented. We would have a five-minute swim and by the time the coach blew the whistle, they had lapped me not once, but twice. We went distances I had never gone before, I would fake wipe out my goggles just so I could obtain a break for a few seconds. While this camp was extremely difficult for me, it ended up being one of the best experiences. I had learned how to swim correctly and with girls who were at the level I should have been at. It made me feel slightly bitter that I didn’t have the experiences that they did on little kid swim teams, but I am overjoyed that I got to meet those girls who pushed me harder each practice. I made some new friends, who I still keep in touch with four years later, who pressured me to do the best I could.

We pulled into the parking lot as I was telling Amanda about the swim camp I went to, talking about just how terrible of a swimmer I was. We went inside and I was looking around at the pool and the area around it, it was tiny. We began to get ready for practice when Amanda left to go talk to her friends from past years. I stood next to the bleachers, freezing in my swimsuit, with an enormous smile plastered on my face. I was going to do my best to not look afraid and make new friends. I gathered up the courage to ask a girl standing next to me her name, as she seemed friendly. I quickly realized that there were many girls from other towns as well and I was relieved to find I wasn’t the only person from out of town. There was an extremely tall man who blew his whistle to get our attention. He then made an announcement for everyone to sit on the bleachers. We all quietly sat down and listened to him introduce himself. His name was Coach V, because nobody knew how to pronounce his name, and he was looking forward to having a season filled with accomplishments. He gave a short and sweet pep talk telling us to do our best and have fun, then it was time to begin.

We were told to hop in once the clock hit one minute, so we needed to get our caps on fast. I quickly put on my swim cap trying not to snap it and went up to the assistant coach, asking which lane I should be in. I was told to begin in lane one, as I had little experience. The first person in each lane jumped into the water that was as cold as hose water. I stood at the back of the line, as I had no clue how fast each person was and jumped in last. When I leaped into the water it was a shock to my

system, it felt like it was filled with ice cubes. Once I got over the shock, I started kicking. We had a 100-meter kick to commence our morning and I was pumped, I love kicking. As we were kicking I found myself running into people. While it was all right for a little bit, it soon became a common occurrence as we drew further into the workout. I continuously found myself running into people or others who would take random breaks in the middle of our swim. I was becoming increasingly frustrated. I would tap somebody’s foot to pass them and they would not move, over and over. Eventually, we had a twenty-minute swim and I was told by the assistant coach to move into lane five. I was so excited, I was finally going to be able to swim at my normal pace without running into people.

I nervously jumped out of the water and grabbed my belongings as I headed into the other lane. All I could think about was getting through this twenty-minute swim without stopping, to prove that I should stay in that lane. As the clock hit the top, the first person pushed off the wall. My chest felt like elephants were stomping on me as I waited my turn while catching my breath. Eventually it was time for me to push off and attempt this long-distance swim. It seemed like it had been an eternity when the whistle was finally blown. I stopped swimming where I was and slowly made my way to the wall. My arms felt like they were limp noodles, and my eyes were rimmed with bright red circles from my goggles. I was extremely proud of myself, I didn’t stop once. Once Coach V announced that we were done for the day you could hear the groans of relief. Nobody had swum for a long amount of time, and it was incredibly challenging.

Once we had hopped out and wrapped up in our towels, we finally got to discover who our swim sister was. I found out that my sister would be Lauren Conell, a senior from Charles City. I was so pumped because I knew that my older sister Erica was friends with her, so she would at least be friendly. As we met our sisters, Lauren had the biggest smile on her face and told me to get on her back to take a picture together. I found out that we were in mostly the same sports so we would be playing against each other during other seasons. We said our goodbyes and left practice for the day. All I could think about was how relieved I was that everyone was nice, and how much I love the sport.

I should be accepted into your college because I am not apprehensive of new challenges. I am unwaveringly determined to make the best of each situation and have fun with it. While new environments may be nerve-racking, I make sure to stay assured to make it as exciting as I can. I learned many new things about myself that wouldn’t have been possible without this team. Because of my time on the Mason City Swim Team, I have become courageous and self-assured. This experience has made me enthusiastic about trying various things because you never know what will happen.

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