Color guard
By definition, color guard is a group of people who carry or escort the flag or colors during parades and band performances. But to me, it’s so much more than that. It is life – twirling flags, spinning rifles, and tossing sabers have become my typical daily routine. It is the girls that are as close as family, it is the coach that is like a sister to you, and it is the friendships that develop along the way. An ordinary definition of color guard doesn’t cut what it means to some of us, what it means to me. Color guard releases the anger. I mean, who wouldn’t want to “accidentally” throw a flag or a rifle at someone next to you that just won’t shut up and pay attention? Yes, it’s bruises, black eyes, and in some cases, stitches or even tendonitis, but this family of girls is most definitely worth it at the end of the day. Swimming
The first thing people may think about swimming is that all we do is go back and forth, back and forth, and you sit there for the finish of this stupid meet so you can go home and sleep. But in fact, it’s waaaaaaay more than that. Have you ever sat in on a swim meet and heard the cheers? 
My boyfriend went to his first swim meet last week to watch me swim against the school he attends (yes, he cheered for me, not for his school, thank you very much). He had no idea that a swim meet could get so loud, so exciting. It’s so loud in there that you get headaches after about ten minutes, so loud that you lose your voice each week from screaming.
Although, swimming is more than just the cheering. Yes, it’s hard work; any swimmer can tell you that. It’s long hours, it’s wondering if this pool grew in length overnight, and it’s wishing that the season could just be over with. Each and every year, I find myself, at the end of the season, telling myself that this was it – I’m not coming back next year. Though each year, I’m back and ready to rock the blocks.
Our team is a family – a group of girls with our head coach and our three assistant coaches. We spend more time with them then we do with our actual families. Swimming is essential to my lifestyle anymore. Without it, I’m not sure what I’d do.
Flute
Flutes – the first thing anyone thinks about is the loud and obnoxious noise 
of the flute and/or piccolo. But have you ever really heard a good flute player? One that uses vibrato (a shaky and exciting effect produced in an instrumental tone by rapid variations in pitch) and dynamics (variation and gradation in the volume of musical sound)? The flute can be a beautiful instrument.
To me, the flute speaks different tones and moods with it’s different dynamics, octaves, and vibrato. The music I play can relate to my mood and my energy level that day.
It is also my other sense – it’s caused me to be able to pick pitches out of thin air; it’s caused me to be able to hear whether a note is sharp (too high in pitch) or flat (too low in pitch). It’s become another lifestyle for me. And maybe, it will even carry me to greater things in life.
Tennis
Tennis – to some, it’s an excuse to use all your power to fling your racket over your head and hit a tennis ball at someone’s face without getting into trouble. It’s the ability to learn control and to apply power to every shot.
Most importantly, what I think about is this: To a tennis player, Love means nothing. But to this tennis player, Love means something very important. It’s the ability to fill yourself with the feeling of being whole, the feeling of being wanted and understood. It’s feeling for others and wanting to be wanted. It’s something I’ve found I can’t live without anymore. That special someone, I hope, has come into my life. If not, for some reason, and he’s not the one (but I hope he is), I guess I’ll just keep on walking until I find the one guy that will make me feel like a princess.
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