Personal Narrative: The Importance Of Diving

While performing a front three and a half dive off a ten meter platform, I lost track of my position and boom my head hit the water in mid rotation. The failed dive resulted in me coming up from the water not being able to hear from one ear. The impact was so severe that I ruptured my eardrum. The injury was one thing but tears rolled down my cheeks after the doctor stated that I could not dive for several weeks. Competitive diving is a sport that often begins with failure but can lead to success. A new dive is challenging because of the fear of the unknown, the preparation time, and the confidence it requires. You do not know how to perform the dive; therefore, you do not know how to respond if something goes wrong. In diving, fear is as controllable as managing an energetic three year old; extremely difficult.

After recovering from the injury, I headed back to practice and repeated the
For example, I have a learning disability called auditory processing. Auditory processing makes it difficult for me to process verbal instructions or even to filter out background noise. With auditory processing, I have learned to advocate for myself in the classroom, at diving and in the other areas of my life. I’m a go-getter and will not back down if an obstacle is in my way like the extremely difficult front three and a half dive. I credit this attitude of overcoming to the many challenges that I must rise above in order to become a successful national and international diver. I’m up for the rigorous classes and the challenge of Big Ten Diving because nothing, not even a disability, will get in my way of having success in both the classroom and on the diving boards while at the University of Michigan. Diving has taught me many things about life, and the most important ones are to face your fears instead of avoiding them, learn to advocate for yourself, and to work through your