Redefining Swimming
What I thought was going to be a semester-long design internship at FInis, a swim company, became a journey exploring my relationship with swimming and how it's ebbed and flowed and rediscovering the joys of the water.
The Timeline
The Past
My Percy Jackson Era
From the earliest age I can remember, I was always drawn to the water. I lived next to the beach and would brave the 50 degree ocean water just to be able to dig my toes in the sand as the waves wash over. When I was 3, my parents enrolled me in local YMCA swimming classes. I started as a guppy and slowly moved through the ranks all the way to shark. Soon I graduated the swim program and began the swim team.
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This was a whole other level I was not used to. Practices three days a week! No "bathroom breaks" aka I need a rest! But practice after practice, I began faster, and stronger, and made more friends.
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Slowly swimming began to consume my days. Practices almost every day, weekends filled with swim meets, my constant smell of chlorine and bleached hair. But I wasn't complaining! I had made the best of friends and teammates, and I found a purpose. I was a swimmer.
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However, the trajectory I was on was not the healthiest. When covid shut down the pools in March of my junior year, I was both so relieved as I was on the brink of burnout, and mourning the loss of my identity. Who was I without swimming?
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And for the last three years, I got in the pool maybe a handful of times. But all that was about to change ...
Swimming photos growing up
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The Present
FINIS Internship
When applying for my spring coop, FINIS was at the top of my list. Not only does the company have an amazing mentorship program, but it's also in the Bay Area (where all of my family is), and it's a swim company! I can't think of a better fit for me. During my interview, David, my soon-to-be boss, didn't know I swam competitively for 10 years and was delightfully shocked. I also found out that part of the work would be to swim three times a week testing out products, prototypes, and for exercise. It was then I knew this was the job for me.
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A couple of hours later, I got an email back saying I got the job. Fast forward a couple of months to my first day at work where we went for a swim and tried out mermaid fins. Not only was I learning so much about design, but I was also swimming and reconnecting with my love lost.
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I approached swimming with a new mindset. I was no longer pushing myself to the edge, I was thoughtfully moving my body to gain insight into the products we were testing. How does the water feel against this fin? Did I feel any resistance? Is this fun to swim?
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I loved everything I did and I was passionate about swimming and the products I was working on. Every day going to work was a blast because I was doing something I felt I could positively contribute to.
David soon assigned me my own project. It's still in the works but I was able to use all my past experiences in the water to make this product something the company is excited about and something that has the potential to be manufactured and sold.
A variety of photos showing both day to day design work and my time at the pool testing products
My project (blur for confidentiality, ask me more about it)
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The Future
Swimming for me
While I will return to FINIS in the fall, I want to keep up my swimming practice in school. It's always difficult to balance school with the 100 other things I want to do but I want to make it a priority for me. I've realized how much swimming has given me and I am loving my new approach to swimming. I want to swim for exercise. Swim to feel rejuvenated by the water. And swim because it's fun.
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I plan to go to the pool at least once a week and I've even brainstormed some sets. I'm excited to continue my swimming practice both this summer and when I return to my internship in the fall!
Swim Sets
