Swimming against the odds

Swimming against the odds

Fire, gas bombs, police and civilians. This was Orquídea 2013, when the
crisis started to become noticeable and people wanted a change. There, we had
numerous civilians on the street, protesting, claiming their rights and a better quality
of life, exhausted from the lack of basic resources such as food, clean water and
electricity; and the insecurity, the feeling of paranoia every time you leave your
house. And there I am, Ocean, a 13 year old girl, blonde, brown eyes, kind and
intelligent. I am very passionate about swimming, I dedicate 6 out of 7 days a week
to practise, and I am training hard to qualify for my first international competition,
while living in Orquidea in this specific time in history.

I started swimming when I was just a child, for mere entertainment. What
began as just another activity, ended up being one of the most influencing factors in
my life. My passion for swimming came from my dad, Océano, who introduced me to
the sport. He was too sick to go out of the house, cancer had gotten to him too fast,
and it was already too late. I did not know about this, as I was just a child who
thought that my dad was going to stay with me forever. I was ten years old back
then, and it was only days after the competition in which I won my first national
championship gold medal, which I dedicated to him, that Océano passed away.
Leaving me with that last picture of us, him with the medal on his neck and a big
smile, and his passion for water. I have always had this crazy dream of going to
Tudor to live and study there, for no reason at all. It is more like a feeling, similar to a
sixth sense that tells you what you should do.

Years passed and I did not forget my passion and my inspiration, I was
always in the pool practicing and training to achieve more. I qualified for my first
international championship. It was in Morada, where I acquired the title of the best
swimmer in Centrópolis, my home continent. Always counting with the support of my
coach Lezama, who resembles a father to me. After that first taste of achieving one
of my biggest goals, my motivation took off, leaving me hungry for success. In the
last competition of the year, I, again, proved myself and finished the year off being
the best female swimmer in my age category in Orquídea. Everybody knew me now,
my rivals were afraid of me, simply because of my results. Everytime I would jump
from the block to the water, I would give my utmost. The year of 2013 had been the
best year of my life, the year I achieved the most, although now, the expectations for
2014 were higher.

It was in 2014 when the riots started in Orquídea. People were on the streets,
fighting against the high levels of urban violence, inflation and chronic shortages of
basic goods and services. It was youth day, so the streets were filled mostly by

adolescents and young adults. It was supposed to be a peaceful march, until armed
men on motorcycles started shooting at the crowd. Tear pumps were thrown to the
protesters by the police. The people in the crowd developed a system to throw the
tear pumps back at the police by using thick gloves and covering their faces with a
vinegar-soaked towels so the tear gas would not affect them. The first person was hit
by a bullet, a 24-year-old man named Primer Muerto. Four rioters saw what had just
happened and started running to help him. He was dead. People were in shock, they
ran for their lives while others were at home watching the news through social
media, as TV channels did not report what was happening. The terrifying day came
to an end, everybody was now in their houses, except for the 43 dead, 3,689
arrested and 5,285 injured. The following days were similar. People were going out
into the streets, fighting for their rights, receiving nothing but death and pain for it.
Days turned into months, becoming Orquídea in a place where vandalism and riots
were considered as normal.

The same year I was selected to compete in my second international
competition, this time in Cattleya. There were eleven more people going with me to
represent Orquídea. I was ecstatic, as this was another challenge I was willing to
accept and succeed at. The swimming practices were becoming more demanding
each time, because to be the best, it was necessary to work hard and I knew it well.
The day to leave to Cattleya came, I was so enthusiastic and confident that this was
going to be a positive experience. One of the coaches responsible for the team
approached the team and informed us that the flight was delayed due to technical
failures with the plane and that we had to wait until the next day to leave.

The second day was more of the same, we had to wait yet another day. Tired
and frustrated for not leaving to Cattleya yet, Sol, my mother, was thinking about the
possibility of me skipping this competition.

“Ocean, I am thinking that it might be better if you skip this competition” Sol said
while looking at me with worried eyes “It’s been almost four days and you have not
left yet, I know how much this means to you, but please, think about it and if it’s
really worth it”

“Mom, I know it’s taking longer than we expected, but please, please let me go. This
means everything to me, please give me a chance. Let’s just wait another day, if we
do not go tomorrow, I will stay” I said, begging my mom to wait another day.

It was a moment of tension for my mom, I was very excited about this
competition and I did not want to miss it for anything in the world, my mom knew
that, and finally decided to wait one more day.

The third day came and we were finally taken to the airport, leaving later than
it was supposed to. We missed two flights on the way to Cattleya, resulting in us
going by bus from the airport to the hotel, which was eight hours away, because
there were no more flights available for that day. We finally arrived, tired and hungry,
after all the waiting and the missed flights, we were finally there ready to swim.
Unfortunately, all the waiting and physical exhaustion from the trip cost me the win,
and I went home with my hands empty this time, leaving me devastated, as I had
high hopes for this championship. However, right after this competition, we had the
final championship of the year back in Orquídea. Honestly, I did not have such high
hopes due to the results from the last championship and also how tired I was from
the trip back, so I was surprised when I improved my times and acquired once again,
the title of the best swimmer in my category of the whole country.

It was 2015, the riots continued and the insecurity and shortages were worse
than ever. Most people were scared of going out, especially at night. The rebels still
had hope to defeat the oppressive system, they were fighting for it. Orquídea had
become a zone of war between civilians and the police. People started to lose hope,
the streets were becoming more and more quiet, as most people were afraid of
going out and getting robbed, kidnapped or even killed. Days passed by, riots were
part of a strange routine, civilians got used to seeing people in the streets and it
seemed all the days rioters spent trying to make a change, were for nothing. There
was nothing we could do that would improve the situation.

In 2015 I was once again selected to represent Orquídea on another
international competition in Mariposa. It was for 21 days, almost a month. My mom
and my coach decided that it was best for me not to go, as that championship would
not have much influence in my career, and not having my coach’s specific training
could prejudicate my results in the last competition of the year, which was going to
be decisive in my career. So I stayed and practiced hard to be prepared for it. The
final competition was close, I was in the middle of a training, when I started to feel a
small yet annoying pain in my shoulder.

“What is this pain?” I thought to myself, wondering what was happening to me, afraid
that something was off.

After a while swimming, waiting for the pain to go away, which wasn’t, I
decided to tell my coach about what was happening.

“Lezama, my shoulder is hurting everytime I move my arm, what should I do?” I said,
worried.

“Get out of the water” He said with concern in his eyes.

I got out of the pool and went to him, so he could see what was wrong.

“What do you feel? Is it a strong pain or just annoying?” He said while moving my
arm up and down.

“It is annoying, but it appears every time I move my arm. Should I be worried?”

“Don’t worry, go home, take a rest and book an appointment with the physical
therapist so he can check up on you and see if there is anything wrong” He said, with
disappointment and worry in his tone.

I picked up my things and left. I told my mom in the car about the pain and we
right away booked an appointment with the doctor for the next day.

In the surgery, I was explaining my pain to the doctor, attempting to describe
in detail what I was feeling and what kind of pain it was. He moved my arm in all
directions, while asking when the pain started and how intense it was. After a few
minutes, he finished the examination and sent me to the clinic to get an XRay and a
CT scan with contrast to find what was wrong with my shoulder.

A week passed, and I finally got the results of the exams. One of my worst
fears were confirmed in the doctor’s office. I was injured. A type 2 SLAP, which is
short for ​superior labral tear from anterior to posterior, in the right shoulder.

“When can I swim again?” I asked right away after the doctor finished his diagnosis.

“You must recover first. You can not do any kind of hard movement with your arms
or shoulders. It is going to take time to fully recover, you need to do physical therapy
3 times per week until we see improvement. After that, you are free to swim
everything you want to” He said.

This had a major impact on me, as I was improving and almost accomplishing
my goals. Practicing for the last competition of the year, the one I sacrificed going to
Mariposa and had so much enthusiasm for. Lezama still had high hopes on me, as I
could still continue my path after recovering from the injury. He decided to help me,
letting me practice only using my legs, so I would not move my arms or shoulders.
Days passed and I was frustrated, I felt useless. Not being able to practice with my
teammates was devastating for me. I was swimming in a different line, separated
from everyone and doing different routines. After all the pressure and stress this
injury brought me, I decided to take a break to focus mainly on the recovery process,
so I could be done and start swimming again as soon as possible.

2016 came, and with it more economic problems, and even more insecurity
on the streets. Lack of food, huge hours-long queues in order to get poor rations of
food at unaffordable prices, people were eating from the trash, and there were
constant shortages of electricity and water. This was Orquídea that year, it was
completely destroyed, and no one could do nothing about it. The natives were
looking for a way out, somewhere where quality of life and security were guaranteed.
All parties turned into goodbye parties for the ones that decided to leave, and as time
passed by, the city looked more and more empty.

This was the year in which I was supposed to come back to swimming. My
shoulder had improved, after months of physical therapy and exercises, I could
finally swim again. I started swimming again slowly, after getting approval from the
physician and coach Lezama. Everything felt like going back to normal again, and I
could not be happier to go back to my old routine.

One day while having lunch in my house, my mom came to me, hiding
something in her back with her hands.

“Ocean, I have a surprise for you.” said Sol, while having a big smile on her
face.

“What is it mom?” I said while excited and nervous at the same time.

“You are going to Lavanda in a week!” said my mom excited, opening her
arms to show me the tickets and hugging me.

I hugged her back, and said “Thank you so much mom, I love you”

“I love you too” she responded.

In the blink of an eye, the day to leave arrives. My mom and sisters were
saying goodbye at the airport while I was entering the departures zone. After a long
flight, I finally got to Lavanda. My godmother, Angela, came to pick me up from the
airport, she had been living there for years now. I was going to stay with her until I
came back to Orquídea after three months. We went to her house to eat and rest.
Everything was excellent, but I had a strange feeling that I should stay there, my
sixth sense was talking to me once again. So I gave it a thought and did it without
ever looking back. I decided to stay in Lavanda and continue school there and find a
swimming team.

The situation back in Orquídea was only getting worse, and I did not want to
live in a place where I did not feel secure even in my own house. After the decision
and a long process of convincing my mom to let me stay there, to what she
surprisingly agreed to, I registered in the school town to continue with my studies. I
searched for a local swimming team, but there was none near enough for me to go
and come back home everyday, as the town Angela lives in is small and there were
only few buses working per day. Because I was not able to swim professionally in
Lavanda, I decided that it was best to focus on school, and leave swimming aside for
a while. Always preserving the passion in my heart.

This decision changed everything. At first I felt okay, I was enjoying the
summer and being in a vacation mode. As time went by, everything started to get to
me. I had a reality check, and finally processed the thought that I was going to stay
there for no one knows how long. Being away from my family and friends, without
even saying goodbye to any of them. Leaving swimming, basically my life, aside to
focus more in school and not being able to do anything about it. I felt like I just left
everything I had, some moments I felt lost and empty, like I belonged nowhere. The
thought of going back to Orquídea was always present in my mind, but it was already
too late to get into my old school, so I had to stay in Lavanda and assume the
consequences of my decision.

Years passed by, and I was still in Lavanda. This time it was different because
my mom decided to go there with me. Adapting was not really a problem, I made
new friends and now I could say I dominated a new language, Lavandarian. Life was
better now that I did not feel so alone. Swimming was still present in my life, although
it was not consistent. I graduated from school, and the dream of studying in Tudor
was still alive, more than ever.

It was at this point that I actually noticed that it was not impossible for me to
accomplish my dream, it was just a decision away. I set my mind to research as
much as I could about Universities in Tudor, how to get in, the requirements, every
single aspect, so I could go to my mom and ask her to let me, once again, leave to
another country. I found an agency that supports students through the process of
getting accepted and with all the paperwork, including a financial help. So I called
them and booked an appointment for the next day. I did not tell my mom anything
about this yet, because we had talked about it before and she would always get mad
at me and tell me that it was not going to happen. But this time I had to tell her.

“Mom, I have something to ask you” I said looking at her, nervous of what the
answer would be.

“What happened?” Sol replied.

“You know, we have talked about Tudor before, and here in Lavanda there
are agencies that help you with the paperwork and also there is a financement
program that helps students” I said, nervously.

“We have talked about this before, Ocean. It is complicated to do that, you
can not just leave like that whenever you want to!” Sol said a little exasperated.

“Mom please, I have already made an appointment for a meeting with the
agency. Just give it a chance, come with me, and if you do not like it, I will not talk to
you about this again”

“Okay, I will go, but I do not assure anything” Sol ended the conversation.

We went to the meeting, and to my surprise, mom agreed at the end. I believe
that she knew what this meant to me, she was always supporting me to achieve my
dreams, always by my side.

Now I was the happiest I had been in a long time. I realised that all the
sacrifices, leaving Orquídea, where I was born and raised, and all the people and
things I love, were worth it. Probably if I would have gone back to Orquídea, things
would have been different, and probably none of this would have happened.

After taking the Tudorian exam to get into University, I received an email
confirming I had been accepted into University. Me and my whole family were
overjoyed, it was something that I had been wanting for a long time. They were
happy that I had finally accomplished one of my dreams. I could not believe it, I used
to think about it and look at it as something impossible, but I did it.

Today, I am happy living my dream, meeting new people and learning new
things everyday. I am pleased that I went through everything I went through, the
positive and the negative, because that made me the person I am in the present. All
the sacrifices and struggles allowed me to achieve one of my biggest dreams, which
makes me very grateful and gives me hope that I can accomplish my goals in life.
The only thing that is still missing is swimming...