So that's it...
So that's it. 4 years, 2 of rowing, 2 of coxing. Gone like that. For four years, rowing has been my life. Everyday, every thought, every dream, it consumed me. And I was ok with it. I wouldn't trade it for anything. I have never been as passionate about anything as I was with rowing. My team was my family. I saw them every day, every early morning. We saw each other at our worst and our best. We laughed, cried, cheered, won, lost, screamed, yelled, complained and smiled together. Each one of them means the world. I spent my high school years in the boathouse. I grew the most inside those doors. The lake has seen the best and worst rows, the early rows and the late rows. The inside jokes we all share and the laughs through the microphone. The intense 9month season filled with joy and pain. The feeling when you win and you put your boat in slings and your coach places a medal around your neck. The person you look up to. The person who has coached you and watched you grow up. The person who has supported you through the worst times. The person who was there with you through it all. Knowing that I only see them 2 more times. I call them my coach 2 more times. Then that's it. I'm nothing to the boathouse anymore. I am no longer a coxswain there. I'm no longer a part of that team. Not to leave out the hard times. The days I walked up the path crying. Running to my car because I didn't make a boat or I was yelled at or my boat had a hard day or I wanted to quit. The countless times I considered quitting. When I emailed my old coach asking what I should do. To think I almost left 2 years ago.. Before my experience even started. Before I won. Before I started coxing. I couldn't imagine my life if I had quit. But now I am. To think that that's it... It hasn't quite set in yet. I'm sure it will. Eventually. For now it just feels like time off. A break. And maybe that's all it is. A break. Making the choice to not be a part of this sport in college was heartbreaking. But it needed to be done. This sport consumes me. I love it and let it. But I need a break. I need to sleep. I need to learn. I need to explore. There is a whole world out there off the water. Who knows. Maybe I'll visit this sport again. Maybe I'll get back on the lake and continue my adventure. But for now, I need to start a new chapter. The chapter where I become the best damn art teacher out there. Page 1...












