Growing up, school and academics were never my strong suit. Every day I struggled to pay attention in class or to keep up with the rest of my classmates as they zoomed through reading assignments, tests, homework, quizzes and almost everything else. I started swimming when I was eight years old and almost instantly fell in love with the sport. I felt that I had finally found a safe place where I could be myself and be free of the judgement and pressures that I felt while I was in school. I had found something that I was good at, something that motivated me and inspired me to become a harder working and more dedicated person. With time and the help of my parents, I learned how to translate the same motivation and determination I felt for swimming into my academics and as a result my grades improved and I was able to get them and my test scores high enough to eventually be accepted into one of the most prestigious academic programs in the country. Swimming is what brought me to UC San Diego, which has helped me to become the best version of myself academically and given me a world class education from a top university.
