After a year being an international college athlete at Rollins College, I can say that everything has been worth it. I started swimming competitively at the age of 12 and I never thought it would open many doors, but now I have realized that all the early morning practices, all the sacrifice I made, and all the effort I have put into this sport was worth it. I could not be more thankful for my parents, family, coaches and friends that have supported me along the way. Moving from Mexico City to Orlando, Florida to continue my academic and athletic career has been an amazing experience.
However, it has also been a challenging one.
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During the recruiting process I am not going to lie, I was very stressed because I was being rejected by some schools because the roster was already full or because I needed to improve my times–and some coaches didn't even answer me! But after sending a lot of emails I started receiving answers from different colleges and universities.
Then I received my first call from a college coach and I was not super prepared. I didn't have any questions or anything, but it was great practice for future calls. After three or four months of talking to different coaches via facetime, phone call or email, I narrowed my search to two schools, which was hard–both of them had things that I love and things that were not my favorites. After thinking a lot and not being able to make a final decision, I decided to flip a coin and go to that school. It ended up going tails that was Rollins so I stopped thinking. I accepted Rollins' offer and rejected the other offer with tears in my eyes. I was so scared of making the wrong decision but I decided to trust my luck.
In August 2021, I arrived at Rollins and I was so scared and nervous because I didn't know anyone! But after a couple of days I started living the dream.
Everything seemed perfect. I was starting to make friends and start practicing with such an energetic group of teammates that support each other. But it didn't last long. After a couple of weeks I started feeling that I was not being myself–I was very shy because I was struggling to understand English in casual conversations, and I struggled with both the slang and the swimming terms at practice. However, I started asking questions like “what do you mean when you say this?” and I started feeling more comfortable talking in English. After a month or two, I can say I was able to adapt to a new language.
After a couple of months everything was great again. I learned how to adapt to a different country, I made a tight group of supporting friends, I was having good performances at practice and school, and was enjoying everything about college life. Then, the first meet came and I was selected to be on the travel team. I was very excited, swam the A relays and had a good performance overall. The season was just starting, but so far, so good.
Winter training arrived and I was just able to go home for a week. I was exhausted wanting to be with my family. I was very tired and homesick during that time and I had to practice two or three times a day. After a couple of days of winter training I began to be aware that what I have been working for during the past seven years was giving me the opportunity to be in Florida swimming in a college team. I realized that this will only last four years and that I have to enjoy the time I spend doing what I love the most, swimming.
Related: 15 Questions International Athletes Must Ask During the Recruiting Process
In February we had our conference meet and I was disappointed–my races were ok but I was expecting to do better because I have never trained so hard to win. But I reminded myself everything is a process, I am adapting to a different training method, and I am sure next year will be better. I have learned that results doesnt come from one day to another. You have to be perseverant, patient, trusting and enjoying the process. Coming from a different country requires a lot of adaptation and this process takes time, have fun with it.
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Finishing my first year of college I can say that everything has been worth it. Having the opportunity to continue my academic and athletic career in a different country is amazing. I have been able to learn, grow, make important decisions, improve my swimming performance, grow as a person, make a great group of friends from all over the world and open my panorama. Going alone to a different country has changed my way of seeing life completely, it has opened my panorama and it has taken out the best version of myself. It has grown my desire to be a better person and have a positive impact in society, never giving up and enjoying every obstacle to reach the top.
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* Originally published on August 9, 2022, by Camila Cramer
