Garrett McCord

Swamming

Not everyone learns to swim in his or her birthday suit, but I did. I was six, enjoying a weekend away at my grandparents’ house when it happened. Before my aquatic education, I wore a Spiderman floaty suit to swim anywhere too deep for me to touch. That fateful day, however, my mom declared it was time to brave the waters unassisted. Prone to chaffing, I had not worn any underwear under my suit, so when I stripped down, I stripped all of it down. Frightened of swimming without my floats, I hopped in. In the thirty minutes that followed, my mom and my grandma taught me to swim, unknownst of the effect it would have on my life.

As soon as I got home, I wanted to get involved in swimming. Shortly after my experience, I joined my local summer swim team. During those summers, I learned about the four stokes, the importance of technique, and how to practice. The more I learned, the faster I got, only furthering my interest in the sport. After a few years of summer league, I decided I wanted to get serious, so I joined the Rock Hill Rays and committed to swimming year-round. There I stayed for eight years. Swimming remained as well, becoming an integral part of my life.

Upon coming to the University of Georgia, however, I realized swimming could not remain one of my featured activities. I was too slow to walk onto the team, forcing me to decide: train until I made it or cultivate other interests. I chose the latter. While swimming was – and still is - a love of mine, alternate facets of my life, namely my education, deserved a higher priority than they had before.

The sport of swimming helped shape me into the person writing this biography. It provided me the skills to navigate life; managing time, extending patience, giving genuine effort, and maintaining an eagerness to learn are lessons I have learned from the water. I have already used those teachings within my first semester at the University of Georgia, and I will undoubtedly use them again. For that, I am grateful to be a 'swammer.'