Life Altering Challenge

Topic: Describe a significant setback, challenge, or opportunity in your life and the impact that is has had on you.

When asked to describe a typical child's life, one usually thinks of play dates, toys, and books. Looking back on my childhood, those common terms generally associated with all children change to leotards, hard work, and dedication. I never could have imagined that my one love and passion of gymnastics could be terminated in a single second.

When I was about three years old, I attended a birthday party at a local gymnastics center where I experienced my future love for the first time. After the party my mother could not keep me from flipping off every piece of furniture we owned. To discourage me from doing flips in our house, my mother enrolled me in my first gymnastics class. I fell in love with the sport before I could do a kart-wheel. Within two years, after completing the basic training, I landed a spot as the youngest member of the Level 4 Competing Team. Increasing my once-a-week practices to three days per week took up most of my spare time, but nothing could stop me from doing what I loved. Soon our team began to participate in weekend competitions and meets. Although I started off barely placing among the older girls, as time went on I became stronger, more flexible, and more powerful. Soon, I was able to do not only the Level 5 stunts with ease, but could easily perform the Levels 7 and 8 routines. Dedicating my life to the sport, I endured many tormenting hours in the gym and excruciating pain of breaking each of my fingers multiple times, but nothing could discourage me. Gymnastics was the only thing I wanted to do. Finally, at age eleven, I made it to the State meet. I coasted through my floor routine, did a respectable job on the uneven bars, and made it through my difficult vault. I had scored nothing less than an 8.9 on any apparatus, which put me in second place. All I had left to perform was my balance beam routine. Although it was not my favorite, the beam was the easiest apparatus for me to perform on, simply because of my little feet and conditioned balance. With confidence, I mounted the balance beam and began my routine. I was easily landing