University of Tennessee Athletics
Lady Vol Diary- Senior Danyelle Vincent
November 28, 2007 | Women's Swimming & Diving
I never expected it to get here so fast. I think everyone is always surprised by it suddenly being 'now.' Looking back over the years here, it has been a long time. Somehow though, looking at it from this end, it seems as if only last month I was a freshman. But here it is. We are halfway through the season of my senior year. This is getting to be the end. I've been trying not to think about it; despite several attempts by Lauren [LeRoy] to lament over 'the last first meet' or 'last first home meet' or 'last picture day.' The list could go on.
I prefer not to think about it. Not because I don't want to soak up every moment of this experience and what it has meant to me knowing that there will be nothing like it in my life again, but because I'm a little terrified. This is the last time around. I better get it right. One thing I do not want is regret. But you really won't ever know what you will regret until it is over. In our sport, tenths and one-hundredths of a second make a huge difference. That's one breath, one kick, one stroke or one hesitation to dwell on after it's all over. I'm not sure that perfection in a race can ever be achieved. That used to be something that made me happy- no matter how good I was I could always be better. And now all I want is the perfect race, for all those tenths and hundredths to line up just right. For what, I'm not sure. When I'm done, I just want to feel like there is nothing left to do. Sometimes though, I think that wishing to make it all perfect gets me further and further from what I really want: great races, to love competing, to triumph over obstacles with my 24 closest friends.
I still have a lot left to do though, and I take some solace in that it's not over yet. I still have time to practice getting it right, to try and perfect my races. I haven't gotten to 'the last race,' but when it does get here, the most important thing will be that I raced.
