I got an A

Last night I gave my first speech in my public speaking class. I am very proud of it...it was the most talked about after class. :) So I thought I would share it! (Thanks have to be given to my mom for listening to me struggle through it and finding where things could be written better.)

One...two...three...Breathe. One...two...three...Breathe. The most calming sounds in my head. No, this isn't a way for me to focus on my public speaking assignment, rather to focus on a race. A swim to be exact. Quite a few people feel that swimming is not a sport. Its a reason to vacation, party, relax, suntan. But for the others is a way of life, a way to relieve stress, a way to experience a perfect moment.
Swimming clears the head. There is not better sound than the water crashing against your body. This clearing of the head and these sounds do not come from an enjoyable playtime in the backyard pool, it comes from the training for a race. Lap by lap. You and the water.
For those who swim competitively, they will each have a stroke or method of of gliding themselves through the water. Butterfly, breastroke, backstroke, freestyle. Each gives a different focus, a different moment.
Butterfly give a confident powerful feeling. Being able to explode yourself out of the water with your legs and leading yourself smoothly back under with your arms is an empowering experience. You can't help but feel confident after swimming 100 meters of this extremely difficult technical stroke.
Breaststroke, like Butterfly, is technical. Technical in timing. The perfect timing of a kick before and after the pull of the arms. I never got the timing. To me this stroke is frustrating and does not give a very good moment, that is why there is a stroke for every swimmer.
Even in the highest stakes of competition, backstroke gives the swimmer a relaxed feeling. Looking up into a bright blue sky, the swimmer can't help but get caught up in the moment.
Freestyle, my perfect moment, is the true stroke of swimming. Without it, the other three can't exist. Butterfly and breaststroke are technical. Backstroke you have to count so to not hit your head on the wall. Freestyle, is just that. Free. Free of thinking. Free of technicality. A 25 meter 1 lap of the pool is quick but a a completely new experience. Calm. Collected. Perfect. A 500 meter 20 laps with 19 flip turns is a whole new reality. Your dizzy, confused, exhausted. But those 15 minutes? That's a perfect moment.
Swimming isn't easy. Like any other sport endurance must be reached. An endurance in your legs to be strong when bending at the knee or being straight depending on the stroke.You must be able to propel yourself through each lap. You can't get to the other side with only your legs, so your arms must be able to pull you, move the water out of the way. Breathing is not the automatic in and out action of an intake of air. Rather, your lungs must be taught a different rhythm. Long exhale and a quick inhale. The need of strength in ones arms, legs and lungs is essential in this wonderful sport.
There is a joke among competitive swimmers that we don't do well with land sports. This came true for me in November. While playing soccer I tore my ACL, a ligament in my knee, and struggled to walk and was told not to swim. While on a cruise in Mexico I decided to try and swim again. It felt really good. I could bend my knee relatively well. Then I feel down stairs when my knee gave out. I tried to swim again and it didn't work. The pain was remarkable. In January I had surgery to replace the ACL and was told not to run or swim for 5 months. Tomorrow I will swim again. Tomorrow I will once again experience that perfect moment.

5 minutes and 100% :)

Now to figure out my persuasive speech....