I remember walking into the pool on the first day of swimming freshman year at Arrowhead Highschool and seeing Coach Kim. I immediately recognized her because she was an aid at my middle school and I knew right away she would be the best coach ever. We already knew each other and immediately had a good connection. 

Over the years of swimming, I always had a negative mindset that I was never good enough, I wasn’t fast enough, and I was a loser for being in a slow lane. But one person that completely disregarded my speed, and allegiance was Coach Kim. She never cared how fast I was, she only cared that I was having fun, smiling, and working on myself to become better. I loved her because she pushed me to become a better swimmer and person.

Coach Kim was also there during times when it wasn’t about swimming. If I was having a rough day with family, friends, or myself she would always sit me down and look at me and just let me talk. She would always give me the best advice, she felt like a guardian angel she always knew what to say and would always make me feel better. She just had a way with words and advice that not only did it help me it helped others as well. 

One time during senior year I was scared to do the 500 (20 laps) because I thought I wasn’t fast enough and I was going to get too tired during it and not complete the race. She sat down with me and told me that I could do anything and I could definitely finish a 500. I kept on practicing and focused on myself and my stroke. When we did a practice race during practice I ended up cutting time on the race and when she told me my time we both screamed. I listened to her, I finished my race and loved it and I continued to compete in those events for the rest of the season. This shows that she always had hope for me that I was going to get better and swim faster.  

At the end of my senior year, she gave the best speech about me, and at that moment I knew I was going to miss her so much. She is the sweetest person ever. She never let me down and always had aspirations for me. I’m going to be swimming in college and it's all because of her.