Personal Statement
Rowing is an art. A personality trait and a way of life. Ever since I began rowing in my Freshman year, the comraderie, beauty and simplicity of the sport has kept me sucked in indefinitely. It has changed my daily life and is at the forefront of my decision making process. There is nothing like waking up early while it’s still a dark and cold morning in January to see empty streets, empty trains and an empty gym. Knowing that with the consistency of this decision, I have just shifted the bowball ahead, made the boat surge a bit further. There is nothing like questioning yourself in the middle of a hard piece, and seeing your teammate suffering just like you. Holding on for him because he is doing the same for you. Shifting the bow together. And there is nothing like reflecting on a bad session. Analysing video to learn more than you thought possible. Getting to see the changes that I’m positively making, and the ones that still need work to give even the smallest amounts of boat speed because every millisecond matters. Setting the stage for an intentional session to come. Finally, there is no greater feeling than seeing this all pay off on race day. Months of hard work for a 7 minute performance. This is why I love rowing and will forever. There is no other application where you can go so deep by spending months trying to perfect one technical change. Nowhere else where you can reap so many benefits on all fronts to completely transform you as a person for the better. This is a way of life and dream I hope to continue through college competitively and beyond. I dream of those cold early mornings with hard ergs and long water sessions and late afternoons of hard work after a long winter day. This is the fun part. That’s where the changes are made. And that’s where the battles are won.
