Parents Recently Retired Gymnast Essay "Who Am I?"

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Former L10 gym mom

Proud Parent
You may rem me as the mom in mourning. A lot of you seemed to read my thread about my daughter retiring but I couldn't. My daughter, despite my best efforts to control and mold her into exactly what I envisioned, wrote this beautiful essay called "Who Am I?" I was moved to tears when I read it. This is exactly what the path and attitude of a retired gymnast should be. How she pushed past my efforts to have her continue when she was done is such a sign of maturity and strength. She's got it. Momma just takes longer to get there. Now I've switched to swaddling my new granddaughter (a long time from now, hopefully, in a gymnastics leo... Lol!

Anyway, I thought you would enjoy it. So here it is. Her words. No parental editing.

WHO AM I?
In May 2019, I walked away from the place I have called home my entire life, Legacy Gymnastics. Ever since I was a little girl, I had been known as “Marion the Gymnast.” Now as I walk away from this constant in my life, I begin the journey of finding my new identity at Auburn University. I am beginning my quest to become an orthopedic surgeon as well as anything else I want to be.
The gym was my safe haven for as long as I can remember. When I first started gymnastics, I was extremely shy and afraid of the judgment of others. As the years went by, this sport, along with the encouragement of my teammates and coaches, helped me become much more self-confident in everything that I do. Gymnastics taught me a multitude of important qualities, such as discipline, dedication, and a hard work ethic. Also, this sport brought out my self-confidence and helped teach me to become a better leader. By practicing these lessons I learned in the gym, I was named Team Captain for three years.
Now, as my time as a gymnast has come to a close, I find myself wondering who I am now that gymnastics is out of the picture. Then I thought to myself and realized that gymnastics will never be out of the picture. It made me who I am today, and while that chapter of my life is over, I will use the lessons I learned from gymnastics in whatever I decide to do at Auburn University. I now realize that gymnastics did not define me, but provided me with the tools needed to be successful at anything I desire.
 
I am so glad you have been able to start moving forward.

She sounds like a mature and strong young woman for sure - with a bright future!
 
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I am so glad you have been able to start moving forward.

She sounds like a mature and strong young woman for sure - with a bright future!
Thanks. I think the trick was Christmas break. When she came home, she was someone else. She truly was no longer a gymnast. She had moved on. I had notions in my head that she would have taken the time off and done regular life in her first semester. I thought she'd have gotten it out of her system and would be ready to come back. But, she wasn't that girl anymore. She just wasn't. And she was so happy with her life. I think it finally shut the door for me.
 
I'm so glad that you are starting to feel closure. You've raised a wonderful, strong young woman.
 

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