My journey as a student-athlete engaged in competitive swimming started when I was just nine

years old and became the backdrop from which I experienced the many ups and downs of my
life. Through swimming, I was able to express and challenge myself as well as begin to
understand who I am, more importantly, what I am capable of. I have gradually developed into a
person who is goal-driven, persistent, and resilient throughout the years. Nothing is certain in
life, but I am certain that my accomplishments wouldn’t be possible if it weren’t for God.
represented Muntinlupa City when I was in sixth and tenth grade. The moment I won a Bronze
Medal in our 4x50 Freestyle Relay during the National Capital Region (NCR) Palaro was an
experience that I will always look back on especially since that experience strengthened my faith
in God and myself even more. I can say that I am not an intelligent person, but I am a person
who stops at nothing until I achieve my goals; with determination and perseverance, I became
part of the Principal’s Honor Roll when I was in 11th Grade. Being someone who merely aspires
to be a person who aims to be successful in the future is not something I wish to be. I aspire not
only to be successful in life but also to be a person who is truly dedicated in making a difference
to this world. WEEK 1
My experience in doing these exercises taught me a lot of lessons and values. Training gives me
an outlet for suppressed energies created by stress. It thus tones my spirit just as exercise
conditions the body. I feel happy to move my arms and legs despite my academics' hectic
schedule. That is because movement is a medicine for creating change in a person's physical,
emotional, and mental states. I feel relieved from the stress and heavy feelings whenever I get to
move my body freely. I do exercise in the past, but I forget to keep up. I feel grateful to my
Physical Education Instructor for encouraging students like me to exercise often. I could have
continued with my old lazy ways without her. I realized that starting is apparent in exercise, but
keeping up is a challenge. It tests a person's persistence and perseverance. I also learned the
value of time. Time is created a thing. To say "I don't have time," is to say "I don't want to." I
realized that exercise does have a place in our schedule. It's up to us if we do it or not.

WEEK 2
Last week, I started exercising regularly. This week is my second week of exercise, and I feel
like I need to keep up to be healthy. Honestly, I encounter some struggles, especially in
strengthening exercises, since I'm a weak, skinny person since I was a child since I suffer from
asthma. But that doesn't stop me from achieving these exercises. There's a saying: "If there's a
will, there's a way." In addition, Frederick Douglass said, "If there is no struggle, there is no
progress." I also dream of achieving a physically fit and healthy body soon. The progress of the
best kind is slow. Great results cannot be achieved at once. Even if how slow we progress, we
will soon reach our goals with perseverance and hard work. Also, our body has limits, and so we
need rest. Rest is part of progress, so we should have time for it. All our hard work and time
would be spilled without rest. Rest may be associated with laziness, but there's a difference.