New Year’s in Florida: A Fresh Start to My Last Freshman Semester - Week 19

After a week in Florida filled with a lot of practice that wasn’t as hard as I expected—though still useful—and a competition on the way back, I’m finally back in my dorm room. Getting into a routine will take some time, but I’ll make it work. Right now, I almost feel burnt out. It’s a weird in-between state of having energy and not having it. Doing something productive feels hard, and honestly, it’s scaring me a little. I feel like I’m starting to catch a cold, and I really hope it’s nothing serious.

While in Florida, I got to visit two very different beaches, which was a nice contrast to the winters back in Sweden. The warmth, the sand, and the water were incredible, especially compared to the cold, dark season at home. As we slowly made our way back to West Virginia, the weather started to look more like home, which was a bit comforting.

When I first landed in Florida, I was alone with just one swim buddy for the first day. The next day, when everyone else arrived, we accidentally locked ourselves out of our room, and the hotel had to call security to let us back in. To top it all off, American Airlines unfortunately lost my luggage.

I must say, we had a lot of fun on this trip. It was an incredible experience to bond with the team. For the first time, it truly felt like we became a team. It’s always nice to retreat and get away to experience new places, and for most of us, this trip offered that. However, I heard this wasn’t the first time Wheeling went to this particular hotel, which is understandable but might feel repetitive for some of the older swimmers.

Thankfully, I wasn’t without my luggage it for very long, and I was smart enough to pack all the essentials in my carry-on. I picked it up on tuesday 4 days after i had landed. However, I did find myself stuck without enough clothes to change into or clean outfits for the begginign of the trip.

New Year’s Eve was a special experience. We went to a little beachside festival to count down the year, and there were fireworks to celebrate. It was such a fun night and my first New Year’s away from family. On New Year’s Day, I rode jet skis, which was so much fun—even though I’m still annoyed that I lost my sunglasses after being thrown off the jet ski!

As the last two days of the trip became almost unbearably cold for outdoor swimming, the final practice session was dreadful. Luckily, Coach let us swim a super short set, and we were on our way quickly. The drive to the hotel that night wasn’t the best. I had a bad seat, and there was some drama in our van as everyone tried to get along. When we finally arrived at the hotel, I got some sleep, and then it was time for a short drive to our first competition of the season.

The competition didn’t go great, which wasn’t much of a surprise. Nobody swam particularly well, but that’s okay. It was still nice to shake off the rust and get some energy out before the long drive back to West Virginia. The final leg of the trip was about eight hours, but it was much more enjoyable. Two people left our van to take alternative transportation back to campus, so we had a lot more space. That extra room made it possible to get some quality-ish sleep and avoid being crammed into each other’s personal space.

Now I’m finally back in my dorm, trying to settle in again as my last semester of freshman year is about to begin. It’s a little overwhelming, but I’m ready to face whatever comes next.