Perseverance is the Peanut Butter of Life

Perseverance is the Peanut Butter of Life

I believe in perseverance. Sticking to things when things get tough has always been my motto ever since I was a little girl. I have been a competitive swimmer since I was five. When I first started swimming I woke up at six o’ clock in the morning, rain or shine and go to practice, the frigid water pierced my tiny body every time I hopped in the water. Swimming more than 10,000 yards a day I was able to become a strong swimmer. The practices felt like they were expanding more and more everyday. I started off slow with just a swim meet every other weekend and then it slowly turned into every weekend was occupied by a long swim meet somewhere in the state of Kansas. Cheerleading has also taught me the lesson of sticking to something. Entering high school cheerleading is an option for an athletic activity. I always wanted to be a cheerleader and so I decided I would tryout. Tryouts were nerve wrecking and I wasn’t sure that I would make it. Every night before the tryouts I practiced on my cheers that I would have to perform in front of the judges. I ended up making the squad and hade the role of captain. Learning all the cheers and the fight song was the most difficult challenge to cheerleading but now I’m a four year cheerleader and I’m the captain of the Varsity squad. Along with my other challenges volleyball has taught me to stick through the rough spots. To belly runs and running stairs for dropped balls volleyball has taught me to man up to tough things. My senior year I had the role of being the only setter on the team until I landed on another players’ foot during practice early in the season and ended up with a hairline fracture across my Malleolus in my ankle. I was out for most of the remainder of the season. I just had to tough it up and act like it didn’t bother me, I mean what else could I do? Perseverance has taught me many things in my life so far. I have never quit anything in my life no matter how hard it is and I know the impossible is possible. My coach always told me “I’m not asking you to touch the lights on the ceiling; I’m just asking you to stick with it”. So to me, perseverance is just the peanut butter of life.