Building My Greatest Skill
What would you say is your greatest talent or skill? How have you developed and demonstrated that talent over time? This question is from UC Berkeley, I chose to write about my greatest talent or skill. I believe that changing my lifestyle over the past four years from being inactive and unhealthy, to working out everyday and eating a balanced diet is my greatest skill.
Over the past 4 years I have gained an interest in fitness and nutrition. All my life I have been playing sports and being active. I joined a swim team at the age of 5 and tried every sport you could think of thanks to my parents. Throughout middle school I was on a travel softball team but once I got older I got sick of doing sports and quit by my freshman year. I was tired of going to practices and having weekends full of sporting commitments. I went into this phase of doing nothing the beginning of my freshman year. I’d come home from school lay on the couch, watch tv, and snack on everything. I was really slow and out of shape and began to realize that I needed more. Second semester I joined the softball team since I was required to play a sport. I started to notice how softball wasn’t doing enough for my body. I got a gym membership at the Right Stuff which was five minutes away from my house and slowly started going to the gym. That summer I went probably six times and most days I ate everything in sight. My mindset back then was since I worked out, I could eat whatever I wanted. Don’t get me wrong, junk food is amazing but too much of it is an issue. I gave up trying to be healthy and fit on my own and then sophomore year I decided to do swim.
Swimming is what kickstarted my passion for fitness. I loved toning my body and feeling powerful. I have been on a swim team my whole entire life but stopped around the age of 13. When I was younger I loved to swim but I wasn’t passionate enough about it to keep on going. Sophomore year I decided to try it again to see how I felt. I gained a lot of strength from it and soon saw results from having to swim laps day in and day out. Losing weight and getting in shape was the push I needed from swim. At first it was very difficult and that’s what I loved about it. It was challenging me physically and mentally. Swimming lap after lap makes you question yourself if you want to stop or keep on going. I remember sitting on the couch all day eating whatever I wanted and feeling terrible because of it, finally I wanted to make that change. That was when I realized I wanted to continue my fitness journey. It has taken a lot of dedication to get as far as I’ve come and I’m very proud of it. I ended up doing weightlifting my senior year of high school and it challenged me which I really liked. Going from an unhealthy lifestyle to being super active and healthy showed me all the benefits of making those little changes throughout the years. Each little change led to a bigger and bigger change in my lifestyle, involving my diet and daily routine.
I believe working out and eating healthy is a skill that has to be developed over time. It takes dedication to build up clean eating habits and getting yourself into the gym almost everyday. People believe that switch from eating junk food everyday to eating salad and greens is easy. Staying consistent is a big factor too. Over the years I have learned so much going through so many phases of working out and going in and out of it. I learned that running isn’t the only way to lose weight and you don’t need to go on extreme diets to be healthy. Eat whatever is green and not processed but give yourself a break and treat yourself. Weightlifting burns fat and is way better than running for hours on end. But too much weightlifting can cause pain and injury if you’re not smart about it. This process has taught me discipline too, taking time out of your day to workout is all about discipline. Going to the gym to lose weight becomes a chore at first and then eventually becomes an enjoyable routine. It is so meaningful to me because of how much of an impact it has made in my life and how difficult it was to begin with. If I’m having a bad day, going to the gym makes it better and helps me take my mind off of things. Not a lot of people can stick to a healthy diet and lifestyle. My overall goal for this is to cut out all processed food by my junior year of college and build a business once I graduate that helps people lose weight and create a healthier lifestyle.
Bella B. 