Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Women's Swimming & Diving Journal - Nikki Seaman
1/29/2009 7:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming and Diving
Jan. 29, 2009
It's an odd thing, being a senior. Just hearing the word "senior" is scary, knowing that swimming, and college, are slowly winding down, and that I will soon have to become a part of the real world. Being a senior on the team, however, has allowed me to embrace leadership and mentoring roles that were exhibited by my teammates when I was an underclassman. As one of the oldest members of the team, I can look back on my four years of swimming with a great sense of pride and accomplishment, and can hopefully help my teammates to understand that swimming has had an enormously positive impact on my time at Bucknell.
I couldn't have asked to be part of a greater team. Even though I have seen a great deal of changes in the program over the past four years, there is one thing that never seems to change: the enthusiasm and energy that my teammates bring to the pool every day. I am looking forward to Patriots in a couple of weeks, not only because I get to swim my last college meet at our home pool, but also because I know that my teammates will be more excited, supportive, and energetic than any other team at the meet. At Patriots, I believe that our team truly shines in and out of the pool, and I wouldn't trade the experience for anything.
To ask me what I would miss most is a difficult question to answer. I can say that I will not miss waking up at 5:30 a.m. and standing outside in the middle of winter, waiting for someone to let us into the athletic building. I also won't particularly miss Saturday morning practices or doing ab circuits in the weight room. But to try and decide what I will miss most about being a part of the swim team is nearly impossible. I will miss completing hard sets with the breastroke group during practice, eating with the team in the cafeteria, getting excited for big meets, and spending time together with the team on bus rides and on weekends. Most of all, I think I will miss seeing the group of people that has become my family at Bucknell on a daily basis. With only four weeks left in my swimming career, I am trying to make the most out of every minute that I have with the team, because I know that the camaraderie of the team is irreplaceable, and that it has made my time at Bucknell better than I could have imagined.
