Maddie Schroeder

I started swim team when I was 3 years old. My mom swam at Auburn University, so I feel like I was just born to swim. Anytime there was water, I was in it. I grew up loving the ocean, lake, pool, any body of water I could find. Swimming brought out passion in me and taught me work ethic and obedience. One of my earliest memories of swimming involved me getting second place in a race and being extremely upset about it. The race didn't matter since I was probably only six years old, but that moment has stuck with me for 13 years. Yes, I was being a dramatic six year old, but swimming taught me obedience and hard work. As I got older, winning started to matter less and improving started to matter more. I feel like that comes with growing as a human being. I owe a lot of who I am to swimming. When you're young and spending years and years with people on a team, a certain camaraderie builds. You learn how to communicate with people your own age and work together. I learned how to support my teammates. I feel as though I owe a piece of who I am and will become to swimming, even though it's just a sport.