I went walking one afternoon hoping to spot at least one deer and other creatures to photograph. Somehow I went at the perfect time because I saw ten deer and three of them were bucks. This was very exciting because we typically only see does and fawns. I was also surprised because two of the bucks I saw were fairly old and had many points on their antlers. In the end, I was very happy that I was able to see these animals and capture their picture. 

For Diwali, Indians typically illuminate their homes with candles and lanterns. Fireworks are also incredibly popular, and fill the sky with an assortment of colors. Above, my aunt and uncle play with sparklers. In the shot, my 

uncle is spelling, “Haley,” in the air. 

Various foods and sweets are shared during Diwali celebrations. In the picture above, one can see a rice and bean dish, pulao and kale chanay, as well as some Indian fudge, burfi. 

When I arrived at dusk, tea light candles lit the sides of the stairs, and strings of lights were woven above the patio. A bonfire offered warmth to the chilly air. Food covered a large table, and my aunts, uncles, grandma, cousins, and immediate family sat on the patio eating and conversing for hours.

- Somewhat near Kalamazoo College 

- Has 4 bedrooms 

- Has a kitchen 

- Has a bathroom 

Pretty simple, right? Our decision was made for us when we visited our first house, which met all of our parameters and it had a wobbly, lopsided bar that read “Go Broncos” across the top. The bar stood in the corner of a dingy, unfinished basement. The lease was signed within the week. 

 The basement definitely isn’t glamorous by any stretch of the imagination. Hell, it’s not even clean 50 per cent of the time. It’s definitely not somewhere that was meant for people to spend hours on end in. 

 But, the basement of my house is a lot of things. It’s my favorite place on campus. It’s a place where I can forget about what’s going on in my classes, what I’m doing when I graduate or what happened at practice that day. 

It’s a grungy, dimly lit bubble – completely isolated from the rest of campus. 

It feels surreal to be at the seeming end of this long journey that I thought would never end. The sport has always been an endless cycle of intense and grueling training with only two weeks of real rest time every year. Once you finish your club season, you get two weeks of rest in the summer before it starts back up on your high school team in August. There is not a time when you are not working toward your goals.

Despite its prominent grueling and soul-sucking nature, Swimming also provides an immense sense of pride when you accomplish a goal that you have worked so hard for. Though this sport is not perfect, it has shaped me into the person that I am today. I think all of the disappointments and time spent training two to three times a day, while difficult, amplified the good parts like the accomplishments within the sport and this fostered an environment for self-growth. 

I have learned time management skills, how to have a great work ethic, confidence that I can do anything I set my mind to, confidence within my body, sportsmanship, empathy, and how to be resilient from this difficult but wonderful sport. I would not have dreamed of my journey with sports being any other way. 

Thank you Swimming.