University of Tennessee Athletics
Lady Vol Diary- Brooke Boncher
March 05, 2008 | Women's Swimming & Diving
Looking back on my swimming career, I realize what a valuable gift I have been given. From my experience as a member of this team, I have learned that achieving success is more about the journey of hard work and the passion that drives you, than the accolades and awards that arrive from this pursuit. I realize that what I value most about swimming is not the records broken or the times dropped, but what the striving for these goals has done to build my (and my teammates) strength and character.
My freshman year was filled with inner drive, passion and a sense of urgency. I realized that four years of competition would pass quickly and I wanted to get the most out of each moment I was given. All of the conditions for success were perfect and my swimming career was progressing well. After a tumultuous six years though, I've learned how hard maintaining this level of motivation is. Things inevitably go wrong, obstacles block the way, and still one must get up every day and perform.
Arriving at Tennessee as a transfer-student senior year, I had little idea of the transformation that was about to take place in my life. Coming back from a major injury, I began feeling like it was less productive to focus on my individual development and more productive to focus on how I could contribute to the development of the team as a whole. Being a member of the team allowed me to look beyond my personal struggles and reach out to my teammates and others who have helped me along the way. Every member of this team plays an important part and it is when all of us are at our very best that we, as a team, are able to achieve an extraordinary level of success.
On days when I don't feel my best, I remind myself that what makes swimming so worthwhile in the end is enduring the struggle to reach a higher level, not achieving the goal itself. Staying motivated, in the long term, is not just a question of being excited about every minute of every practice. It is a question of not letting the hard moments get you down. It's about recognizing what has put itself between you and your goal, and moving beyond it with all of your power. If you can do that, you will not only succeed, you will become a stronger and better person in the process.
