I have always felt a deep connection to water, which is why I love swimming and many other water activities.

Water rejuvenates me. This is also why I decided to become an artistic swimmer. When I first told my parents that I was going to join artistic swimming, they were a little concerned. They researched it and realized that it can be a pretty brutal sport, as artistic swimmers need to hold their breath for quite long. They were concerned for my well-being. However, my love for the sport made me stubborn enough to convince my parents that it was right for me.

Hence began my journey as an artistic swimmer. And since I started training, I have had the best time of my life. My previous dance experience has helped me pick up the skills and grace necessary for an artistic swimmer. I am also blessed to be in a wonderful club, Crystal Aquatics, and I am forever thankful to my coach, Crystal, for believing in me and giving me the opportunity to be part of her club. I was pleasantly surprised when she sent me for my first competition, where I had to do a solo artistic performance.

​The competition served as a great learning experience for me and the memory remains vivid today. I had practiced for the competition and was in my artistic swimwear with make-up on and my bun done up. My emotions were chaotic and my stomach churned. I was excited and nervous at the same time. My family was with me to give me all the encouragement I needed. My coaches Crystal and Eleanor assisted me with my warm-up and were there as a strong pillar of support as well. To my astonishment, my friend Camellia, though her performance had ended way earlier, remained to motivate me. I was really touched by the love from my coaches, family, and friend. Thus, when it was my turn, I was all geared up and took my position.

​I waited for the music. However, the music did not come. I was counting in my own head and dived into the water and began my performance, until I was stopped by my coach to my great astonishment. I then realized that I had started too early. It was a false start. There should have been a bell, followed by my music, before I dived in. I felt really embarrassed and disappointed in myself. However, at that point, I also felt a surge of adrenaline rush through me that made me want to prove to myself that I could still do this.

For a second time, I dived into the water and gave it my 200 percent, as my coaches had always advised. Once I was done, my coaches, family, and friend said “Good job.” Although they were very encouraging and positive, disappointment was still written all over my face. My parents tried to console me, but I continued to feel that I had let everyone down.

​My coach, Crystal, who is such an excellent artistic swimmer, messaged me later that day that she was proud of me and that, despite the false start, I had done well and completed my routine beautifully. She also shared a photo of me during my performance that blew my mind. My parents saw the photo and they understood what I meant. I looked so happy when I was executing the steps. Although I had so many mixed emotions, this was the real true emotion that had been surging through me when I was in the water dancing. I had been so excited and happy, and the photo truly reflected that.

It was a moment of realization for me that life is not just about being triumphant all the time. It's about cherishing every moment you have by doing the things that you love. It was a reminder for me that artistic swimming is a sport that I love so much. When I am underwater, I am able to clear my thoughts, plan my goals and schedules, de-stress, and come out feeling refreshed. There will be many competitions. However, just like yin and yang, for every win, there will be a loss. No matter what, every experience is still a victory as it makes us stronger for the future.

​This false start was an eye-opening experience for me and will forever serve to remind me that life isn't about victory all the time. It is about always learning something new about ourselves and getting stronger so that we can continue to move forward. Today, I am a notch stronger because of that false start and the most important thing is not the number of losses or wins but the happiness that engulfs me whenever I am in the water. Moreover, I have learned that resilience is the key. No matter what happens, never throw in the towel and you will achieve your goal in one way or another.