My most significant memories of Archbishop Carroll High School revolve around my experiences on the Carroll swim team.

There are three main reasons why these memories are important to me.

First, swimming is the type of sport in which it didn’t matter how bad you are because they just needed swimmers to compete. Although I wasn’t one of the strongest swimmers on the team, I always felt like I was needed and wanted.

Second, my teammates made it fun. All the cheering, laughter, and support made the three-hour meets fly by.

The last reason is all the memories that I will never forget. From my freshman year I will always remember Coach Llerandi, the biggest swim team ever, and team dinners in the school cafeteria. During my sophomore year, it was a little rough adjusting to a new coach, and my junior year I won the Most Hydrophobic Award for never wanting to get in the pool at practice.

My senior year was the most memorable! We had the best pasta dinners with the best gnocchi and lasagna that I’ve ever tasted in my life. It was also when I had one of my best meets against Bonner-Prendie. It was a close meet, and I volunteered to swim the 500 freestyle. That is 20 laps nonstop. I was so nervous. Even though I came in second place, I still earned points for our team, and I beat my personal record by over a minute. Right after I swam the 500, I had to swim the 200 freestyle relay. I helped my team win the race, and we earned enough points to win the meet. It was a well deserved victory.

Swim team has taught me that high school isn’t about the legacy I leave behind, but rather the friends and memories that I will take with me.