In just these past 31 days my life has turned around. The best part is that all the things that have happened in the last month are of good deeds. Firstly I turned 18! The big one-eight! Officially legal … to sign my own things now. And after vigorous racing and trialling I was informed that I was selected to represent my country at the 2009 Junior World Championships in France, in a pair with none other than one of my good friends Kate Christowitz (from the same boat that I participated in last year).

This was basically my dream for the year coming true. Now it’s just all the distance and training we can do before we leave. Every good stroke is worth a million bad strokes, so the deal is to get as many great strokes as possible and the discipline that comes with it. These are just two of the hundreds of things that we need to conquer to be in competition with the top athletes from the other countries.

My friends ask me continuously how I cope with all the school work, rowing training hours, homework and then still sleep and eating. The raw deal is that it is extremely difficult and I need the discipline to be able to juggle all these things. I prioritize my school work and sleep when I can. Sleep is really important for any athlete, so I sleep in the car on the way to training, on the way home, when I get home from school and at breaks I just relax without thinking of all my work.

Good luck all matrics with these June exams, what we don’t get right now we will get right in prelims and finals.

That as all it took and I was gripped from that moment on. My involvement with the sport I love today started when one of my good friends asked me that simple question, asking me to join her at a pre-season training afternoon. Never did I imagine that by agreeing to go with her that my entire life would change and that I would excel at it.

From that one afternoon I was hooked and have never looked back or even asked the question “What if I had never gone to that first training session?”. I have found my passion; my sport. Rowing.

From then on I learnt that I had the enthusiasm and the mental capacity to handle most of the curveballs that are part and parcel of rowing.

Three school seasons later and I had my first break at a national level (with who else) than three of my really good friends! It was the best six months of my life. Training was tough, don’t get me wrong, but it was all worth it in the end. Rowing has helped me form friendship bonds that will never cease to exist in my life and it has prepared me for life.

At the moment I’ve been selected for the Gauteng Squad and am up for National selections again the end of April. (Holding thumbs)

It still amazes me that I have the same new passion for the sport and I really do look forward to water sessions. It really is a calming thing for me in my life, especially after a hectic day in matric. Good luck to all the matric’s out there, term 1 is nearly over. All I can say is “be passionate in what you do best and it will reward you in the end!”