Was It Worth It In The End?

    As many of you guys know, I started competing when I was nine. Which is pretty late. I was 4'9 which is super tall for a nine year old gymnast. I wasn't the daredevil of the gym, I was the focused one with a heart. I had so much trouble with tumbling. I went through so many injuries in gymnastics, at least one break a year and a couple sprains. And then there were those practices where I got so frustrated with myself or that my coach would yell at me so much that I would cry. If you are a gymnast, you know that your Friday nights are occupied. For me on Friday I had practice from 4-9 p.m. then gym on Saturday morning from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. So there is obviously no time for sleepovers or parties on Friday's. The biggest party of the night was on a Friday, it was for my friend's birthday and she always has a HUGE party. But of course I had to miss it because of gymnastics.
    Now don't get me wrong here, I still loved to train! I was probably the hardest worker in that gym. Because I had the heart, but not much of the talent. For gymnastics you need to be physically tough and also mentally tough. It's just so hard sometimes when you have been working so hard for a skill but then just can't get it. And all you can think to yourself if, "What the heck is wrong with me?! Why do I even think I could ever be like McKayla Maroney someday, I'm awful!" Yep. I have said those exact words to myself. I was so tough on myself as a gymnast. The skill I had so much trouble on is my round off back handspring. I know I know stupid right? Yeah go ahead laugh. I totally had that skill down physically, but when it's not a physical problem... It's a mental problem. Some meets I would do it... Others I wouldn't.
    When I had to quit gymnastics I left the sport feeling so unaccomplished it was crazy. I felt like I had spent all of my life training for nothing. Was the training even worth it now that I had to quit? I worked so hard for the past nine years and now it was over? What? I missed all those sleepovers, parties, and trips for nothing? C'mon. That's not reality. Unfortunately it was reality, complete reality nothing more than reality! I left the sport so upset. And I really wish I hadn't.
    Now the real question to ask myself was it truly worth it in the end?In the previous paragraph you could easily say "no, it wasn't" But I think it was worth it. I knew I would never make it to the Elite level with my fears, height, and injuries. But gymnastics taught me so much. It was worth it to be apart of the toughest sport in the world and say you compete, and to do more push ups than the boys in PE Physical Fitness Testing. All that training did have a meaning, it brought me into the world of gymnastics, which I will keep in my heart forever. I might not be a gymnast anymore physically, but like I said. The two components of gymnastics are the physical and mental state, while I might not be a gymnast anymore physically, I am mentally. Gymnastics will always be apart of me no matter what. So yes. It was worth it in the end. I might've not became that gymnast I wanted to be. But gymnastics taught me so so much.