I was first introduced to gymnastics at 7 years old, when I would watch my older brother in practice. I knew from the very first time I saw him flip around that gymnastics was the sport that I wanted to do. My ultimate goal was always to be able to compete at a collegiate level with a D1 school, but little did I know how much effort and hard work that would take. My goal still has not changed, but it has definitely been a very long journey. In the 8 years I have been doing gymnastics, there have been so many ups and downs. I competed my first year of level 10 last season, while also starting high school, and it was definitely a huge jump from level 9. Learning how to balance school and gym was a definite struggle, but still I was determined to improve my skills and mentality over the summer for this next season. During that time, my body went through puberty and I grew in height and weight. My body changes resulted in some minor injuries throughout the season that I had to work through, but was able to compete in some meets as well as gain more strength. These past few months have been a bit of a struggle, mentally and physically, but it has been an experience I have learned many lessons from, and believe I will get stronger from. I get better a little every day, and hope to jump back to normal as soon as possible for this season. I look forward to competing, and continuing to improve.