I believe in the underdog.

Early this morning, around 5, I was swimming laps in a steaming pool with dim lights. The sky was black, the moon was full and all I could see, taste and smell was chlorine. I was tired. But it was that different kind of tired, that sinks into your muscles, and makes your eyelids heavy. That kind of tired that puts a haze around your frame of mind, and makes others voices sound slurred.
I guess I just wasn't all... there.
I was thinking about school, and college. I was thinking about family and my future. I was thinking about pretty much everything but swimming. It wasn't until I missed my goal time on my timed 50 free by .1 that I was quite rudely slapped awake.
C'mon, lets think about this. .1? .1 of a freaking second. wow. Only in swimming would a tenth of a second wreck your entire day. I've been in races where 1st through 5th place have been separated by only a second. Funny, isn't it, how a tenth of a second can make a girl feel so insignificant.
Sometimes I feel like it's always like that. That I'm almost there, almost, almost... aaaaa...nope. It reminds me of when someone you like is about to give you a hug or a high 5 then they're all "Psych!"
I feel like that .1 of a second is all "ha ha, sucker!"
Is it  bad to want to swear at .1 of a second? Cause I want to.
I was really frustrated after morning practice. Tears were stinging my eyes and my muscles were all tense. Then I remembered something my mom said last night at dinner.
"I believe in the underdog." I thought about that for a second, and after shouting "BLOG POST!" in the middle of the restaurant, I kept thinking about it.
Aren't the stories we remember most the ones where the losing team comes back and wins? Or the basketball player who never thought he'd play, then scores 20 points in the last 4 minutes of the game?
Then I noticed there are quiet underdogs. Ones who don't gather as much attention, or praise. They struggle in their own way, then over come it.
I believe in the underdog.
So, in a way, aren't we all underdogs? Granted none of us are perfect. We all have our own unique trials and probably most of us feel that we've been dealt the raw hand in life.
Well, incase you're struggling,
I believe in you.
I believe in everything that you are, and will be. I believe in the fire and the drive that I know you have. I believe that the blood, sweat, and tears you put into everything you do will put you on top in the end. You're stronger than you think. You have more potential than you know.
You may be the underdog; but the underdog will relish success because they know the pain it took to get there.
I promise, it's worth it.

"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." - Gandhi.