The Final Salute

Picture this, you are a college senior saluting the judge before the last routine of your athletic career. There’s a rush of emotions swirling through your brain. You’re excited, yet apprehensive, it all seems to be going so fast. For 90 seconds you aren’t allowed to think about it being the end, you have a job to do. Somehow, you must also savor every last moment. Before you know it, you land your dismount and it’s all over.?

Saturday night, I competed in my first (and last) ACC Championship meet. Before Clemson’s inaugural gymnastics season, the ACC did not sponsor gymnastics. 2024 marked the first year of ACC gymnastics and I feel so lucky to have been a part of such a historic year. So much so that I am truly heartbroken to leave it all behind.?

I can’t quite remember who decided this fact, but there is a theory that it takes roughly 10,000 hours to master a skill. After some questionable calculations (I am not a math major) I discovered that I have spent about 21,190 hours doing gymnastics throughout my 17-year career. For context, that is about 2.42 years of my life.?

Now, by no means would I consider myself a master of the sport of gymnastics. Trust me, next to any of the gymnastics greats, my abilities would fail to even remotely compare. The numbers do, however, provide some reality as to why retirement is going to be so bittersweet. Most of us don’t start to have concrete memories until roughly age 3 or 4. Given I started gymnastics at age 4, I quite literally do not know or remember anything else.?

Technically, I have another year of eligibility due to the Covid protocols. Though I don’t plan on taking my 5th year, I’m thankful that I had the opportunity to consider. I think the decision helped me realize that while I am going to deeply miss my time as an athlete, I truly don’t feel the need for any more time. It is hard to move on, but I know it’s necessary and I know that it’s time.?

In reflecting on my last four years, I don’t think there’s anything I would change. There are certainly moments and experiences that at the time I wish I could’ve skipped out on, but I can see retrospectively just how important they were to my journey. I was never the MOST talented, highest scorer, or team MVP, but that didn’t change my ability to impact my team or my teammates positively. More than discipline, hard work, or perseverance, I am grateful to have learned that lesson.

Looking forward, I hope to approach life similarly. Especially as a fresh college graduate, I am sure that my new job and city will humble me in more ways than one. I don’t expect to always know the answer, make all the right decisions, or have the best paycheck. I do however plan to make an impact, positively, in any way that I can. Somebody always has to wash the dishes (As a former server, I can attest that they truly are the core of the restaurant). Then one day, when the time is right, hopefully, I’ll stick the landing.