By Sarah Lloyd, Swimming World College Intern
It’s that time of year again. Classes are winding down, final exams are underway, and the sweet release of summer vacation looms large on the horizon. And while graduating seniors are busy getting all the ~*feels*~ about the real world, swammer life, and leaving the place they’ve called home for the past few years, the rising seniors are having their own internal crisis.
Here are some of the thoughts that the Class of 2017 is currently having about great power and great responsibility:
1. I can’t be almost a senior…
This is one of the hardest realizations…at some point you’ll understand that you are, in fact, no longer a freshman. A movie-style montage of the past three years will whizz through your head, accompanied by the nostalgia of freshman year when everything was so new and exciting, when you were taken care of by all of the nice seniors and things were good. And then you accept that you have to be the nice senior, even if you still feel like you need to be taken care of…
2. T-shirt designs, team suits, etc. They’re now your responsibility.
When you realize that you’re responsible for designing all of the t-shirts, picking the team suit, and generally making the team look good, it can be kind of intimidating. At this point, Pinterest might be your best friend…
Photo Courtesy: SwimmingWorld.TV
3. You set the tone for the team atmosphere.
While everyone contributes to the team atmosphere at meets and workouts, the seniors are the true leaders. The new freshmen will look to you to see how to do things, which can be a bit scary. Just remember that as long as you’re doing everything you’ve been asked to do–showing up on time, doing the whole workout, etc.–and doing it with a positive attitude, the tone will take care of itself.
4. The team will be totally different.
While the team changes every year, there is something especially poignant about the class ahead of you leaving. They are the last remaining aspect of what your freshman year was and for many of us, that’s a nostalgic feeling. They were the class that you could probably best relate to, other than your own, so them leaving may feel like the end of the world. While the team will be different, you can make the best of it by using the skills that this graduating class has given you.
5. I get to lead my team with some of my closest friends.
There’s something so exciting and rewarding about the realization that you will be the ones that the rest of the team looks up to next year. It will be a challenging, sometimes frustrating, but infinitely worthwhile experience and you get to do it with your best friends.
Photo Courtesy: Laura Nagle