Believe

To all of you interested in participating in international-level athletics, pay attention.

WADA, the World Anti-Doping Agency, has increased its regulations in the past few years. One thing that they require of all athletes is a TUE, or Theraputic Use Exemption form. The purpose of this form is to list all of your prescription medications and their dosages. The form must be signed off by a physician, the director of your national federation, and yourself. The form must be submitted in original copy to your country's Olympic Association. Now if your federation is India, they will have a little trouble keeping track of your TUE. In fact, it'll be lost in approximately 24 hours of having been given to them. So the best plan is to have a clear copy to yourself. After you submit it to them personally and they “can't find” it, the anti-doping council at your competition will demand your TUE since they have no other way of documenting your medications. As a result, this will send your federation into a frenzy and will require you to go get a whole slew of tests done at a local hospital in order to verify that you in fact require medication. Just do yourself a favor and protect yourself; keep clear original copies of all of your TUE's, and don't ever submit the original to your federation in good faith that it will be looked after properly.

And I'm off to the hospital in one hour for those tests...

Coming into a major competition is both an experience for the senses but is also an experience for one's mental fitness. I can't stress enough just how valuable experience has been in getting me mentally prepared for these Games and beyond. During my first international competition, the Asian Games in 2006, I was a mental head case. I swam miserably slow times because I couldn't shake off the nerves that overcame me before every race. I somehow had the impression that there was immeasurable pressure on me to do things that I didn't believe I could. After seeing that everyone was very supportive regardless of my results, I calmed down a bit by the time 2007 Melbourne World Championships rolled around. And from there onwards through other meets I've become progressively more relaxed. It lets me get even closer to realizing my full potential in my performances as I gain that experience.

Despite of this challenges still remain. I have a personal desire to be a finalist someday at a major international competition such as the Olympics or Worlds which motivates me to compete and improve. I also hope to earn medals for India at certain competitions before my career is over. The way I see it, much of this is just slightly out of my reach right now. I frankly don't quite have the times yet to say I'll make those goals without a little hesitation in my voice. Will I be able to do it in the future? I sure hope so. It has been a long road getting here, and I've had that sort of doubt in the past.

As a high school swimmer, I watched state and national championships in which my peers were far ahead of me in their performances. I had mixed feelings seeing that. Part of me wished dearly to be in their company, contending for titles and leading a team. The other part of me thought I should give up because there's no chance I'll be there; dropping 10+ seconds is nothing but a dream. And international swimming? Forget about it. That's another league that I don't have the privilege of joining. I'm not big enough, strong enough, committed enough, whatever.
I decided to trudge on, hoping that maybe I was wrong about myself. Year by year I managed to drop those seconds I never thought I could. Suddenly I wasn't thinking about squeaking my way into a State or National age group final as a high school senior. I had the confidence to know I'd go that far. I changed my focus to winning and scoring points for my team in the final. I moved on to university, and yet again faced doubts. Another 6 seconds to drop before I could reasonably be an Olympian; another 2 seconds after that to be a finalist; another half second to be in the hunt for medals at an international competition. And here I am now. I've crossed the Olympian mark, comfortable in my own skin having come this far. But goals still remain. Having overcome so many small challenges on the way to getting here has really boosted my confidence in my ability to accomplish what ever I have left to do.

Throughout this process I've met a handful of people whom I admire greatly; champions who have done what I long ago only wished I could do. And you know what they always said? They said I could do it. They believed in me not even knowing my name, let alone my skills. It had nothing to do with me being something magical; it had everything to do with their confidence that anyone who dreams big can achieve big. They have no fear telling others to dream big themselves. So if you're out there reading this now, know that I believe in you too no matter who you are. Dream big.

What's stopping you? Are you afraid that your dreams might actually come true? **gasp!** Oh NO, not that!