Learning in Life with Lily

How I am now a swammer after being a swimmer for over a decade and a half.

Two weeks ago I swam my last race as a college athlete. Before the race I was smiling and laughing with my friends. During the race I cried. After the race I had a wave of emotions pass through me. It was a terrible swim by me and I came last but I didn't care one bit. The past 10 years my life have been spent dedicated to the sport of swimming, and I don’t know who I am without the scent of chlorine. The endless 5am wake ups have shaped me into the person that I am today and have been the center of my world. I have spent so much time in the pool, and now I have all this spare time to fill. I am excited to find new hobbies and new ways to spend my time, and to find who I am without the sport of swimming.

On to new adventures!

How I communicate with my boyfriends non-english speaking family.

Whilst attending Keiser University, I met and fell in love with my boyfriend. From Switzerland with family ties to Croatia, he had a very different upbringing to me and had different experiences throughout his life from different cultures. At home he speaks Croatian with his family, whilst speaking Swiss German with friends and in day-to-day life. I on the other hand, was raised in Australia and only speak English. We are different, but we are still so alike. With him, I was able to learn about other cultures and values that were different to my own.

How I packed my life up in two days notice and moved to the other side of the world with nothing but two suitcases and a dream.

2020 was a tough time for everyone. It was also a confusing nightmare logistically, especially in terms of international travel. Prior to the pandemic, I had my life all lined up. And of course that plan was flipped on its head come March. I was meant to be attending Keiser University in the fall to continue my academic journey and swimming career. However, due to Australia's tough lockdown restrictions, I faced many issues when acquiring my visa to enter the US - to the point where I had to defer my degree to instead start in January. It was already September of 2020 and I was frustrated, watching my meant to be teammates begin their college lives in West Palm Beach. My life was flipped on its head again on September 3rd when I unexpectedly got a call from the US embassy in Melbourne, to come in for a visa appointment the very next day. Three days after that, my visa arrived in the mail and I was on a flight to PBI. With next to no notice, I shoved all of the clothes that I could into 2 suitcases, said goodbye to my family, and hopped on a 16 hour Qatar airways flight - that had to first go to Qatar due to covid rules. From there I had another 16 hour flight to Dallas, followed by one more 3 hour flight to PBI. It was exhausting, and took over 40 hours, but I made it.

When people ask me the question, 'how did you prepare to move to the other side of the world?' I'm not sure how to answer. Because it felt like I didn’t prepare. Or at least it felt like the time between getting the phone call and landing in the US was so short that I didn’t have time to plan, and instead I just had time to do.

However, leaving my home to start my new life so quickly taught me quite a few lessons in a short time.

I was forced to learn how to go with the flow. Never quite knowing what was coming next, I had to be comfortable being uncomfortable. I had to become flexible, and adjust my plans just as much as my plans adjusted me.

I also had to learn to deal with circumstances that were out of my control. As an anxious person, I found this quite difficult. But I can't control many things. I can't control covid, the weather, if my visa comes in time or if my flight gets cancelled. I just have to trust myself that I have the skillset to get through a problem if it arises, and to not worry about it unless it happens. As they say, 'lets cross that bridge when we get to it'.

Lastly, I had to learn to embrace the adventure. I had to remember who I was and who I wanted to be as I entered my new life and new adventure. I didn't want to let anything hold me back, and so I had to practice diving in head first and giving everything my all.