Just keep swimming: my life in a nutshell

"Jump, and you will find out how to unfold your wings as you fall."
- Ray Bradbury

Wow, where should I start? Every time I write on my blog, I spill out all my guts (Maybe, not literally, but you get the picture). As I have said time and again, I grew up in a musical family. We are just as excited about music as we are about swimming.

 I've been swimming since I could crawl! Luckily, I was homeschooled so I was free to swim as much as I wanted. My parents decided early on to put all of us kids in a swim club called NOVA. Back then, swimming was all I knew because I was there every day from 3pm to 8pm monday through friday! Crazy, huh? Now that I look back, I didn't really care too much about competition. I distinctly remember playing cards with my friends at Junior Olympics before my heat was up. Unfortunately, I totally missed my heat and my coach was mad! I was having so much fun already that I forgot about my race and I wasn't even worried about it at all. Swimming is and always will be my favorite sport! I am not sure I'll ever go to competitive swimming again myself, but I'll cherish those moments forever. 

Butterfly is my best stroke. This might explain why I have gnarly muscular legs on my tiny body. If you've ever met me, you already know! I'm definitely not ashamed of my muscular legs, and I'd go as far to say that I'm proud of them even if that makes me cocky. God gave me a height of 5 ft 1.5 in and it's amazing how much I can do with all he has given me. I used to think of my short height as a bad thing and wanted to be taller. Then I realized there's no greater gift than the body God gave you and he has such an amazing plan that you cannot even fathom.

To all the athletes like me, remember that you are blessed to have a sport that you played and your parents were probably the reason you were able to become an athlete in the first place. Thank God I was given the amazing opportunity to be a part of a swim club team like NOVA with my siblings. I'll always remember the early mornings as a blessing because I wake up at 5:30 am automatically now.

Once a swimmer, always a swimmer

Rachel

Illuminated shadows: Food for thought and a penny in my pocket.

'A penny in my pocket, a dollar in my shoe, and when I give it all to Jesus, there's nothing I can't do.' 

-Jana Alayra

      When I was born, my skin was yellow with a deficiency that I couldn't put my finger on. No one else really knew why. I thought maybe it had to do with the fact that I had two older brothers and an older sister. I am talking about those little ideas that pop in your head when you DO something. Whether it's a belief or simply the food you eat, everything impacts you to a certain degree. There's the age old question... Why do you do what you do? Cows say 'moo', I say 'hey you'. My point is everyone speaks the same language in their own special way. We're only humans and animals. God is the whole sum of our parts. I love to use the car analogy. When I first started driving, I was in a toy car in my backyard saying 'choo choo, out of my way, I got this, guys'. As an adult, I will do the same thing in a different way.

      My first car was a 1999 Dodge Caravan. My life was in that van. Literally. I would travel the entire world in that van if I could. But at some point, it had to break down. It was my special something for 3 years. Wow. I know it's only a car, but it was my car (even if my parents paid for it, they said YOU take care of it). I had my blanket, my cooler of food, and my music. Yup, that just about sums up my life. God is that CAR. Ha. Yeah.... I attach to tangible objects too. I'm a sinner. I came back from Colorado knowing that reality hit me hard and I had to change into a flower rather than a thorn in my hip. With no car, no computer, and a cracked iphone, I flew to Colorado. I came back with an open wound that God would heal and continues to heal daily.

     I'd love to be a wallflower, but I want to fly down on a jet. A jet that leads me home, but lets me sore into the wild with my gluten sensitive stomach and all. I thank Jesus every day that I am alive because I have had countless doctor's appointments with doctors who don't know why I have gluten sensitivity. And no, I don't have celiac disease, I have been tested for that and have a low blood count sometimes so I choose not to drink alcoholic beverages like you might. I have nothing against those who drink. I really wish it could be normal for me to drink. But reality check: I tried alcohol before a little before I turned 21. Then I had one or two once I turned 21 and I tired of it quickly. I have never been drunk nor do I want to be. Real talk: I don't have time to see every doctor in the USA and with God as my witness, I can get through the battle I face everyday. It's expensive to live in a world where hotdogs and corndogs exists because I love food especially corndogs (cuz they punny and yummy).

Boo my nervous system and Yay for God who understands my woes,

Rachel

P.S. I do have a car, and it feels so good to know that it's get me places Coldplay constantly reminds me, "and it was allll yellow".