John Cortez

April 21, 2017

Pride Sample

Over the last four years, I have excelled not only through my education, but in many

aspects of my life. One of these aspects which I take great pride in has been my growth and

progress on the Merced High Swim and Water Polo teams.

My freshman year, I was not very active due to the amount of pain and difficulty I was

experiencing from my arthritis and fibromyalgia diagnosis. I have always loved sports, like

basketball and football, but my condition slowly tore me away from sports, causing me to think

there was no hope of playing sports in the future. However, my sophomore year, I began

self-treating my condition, radically changing my diet and physical activity. I began practicing

physical therapy and as I improved, I decided to join the Swim Team. My older brother,

Christian, had played Water Polo and swam, so I was familiar with many people on the team;

little did I know, this was one of the best decisions I had made in high school.

My first swim season, my condition improved immensely and I dedicated myself to

improving my times and contributing to the team. At the beginning of the season, my 100 yard

freestyle time was 1:40 and by the end of the season, I dropped 35 seconds and went a 1:05. At

the banquet at the end of the year, I received the Most Improved Swimmer award for the

Frosh/Soph team. I was extremely shocked and proud to receive this award; I had gone from

having little-to-no swimming experience to training and competing on a competitive level. This

award served as a symbol displaying all the intense training, long practices, early morning

practices (6 AM sharp!), and physically grueling swim meets through rain, shine, and wind.