Just Keep Swimming by Rokaya

Just Keep Swimming by Rokaya - September 2022 Scholarship Essay

Just Keep Swimming
The whistle had blown. I stepped up onto the block in lane four wearing my silver swim cap, all-black full-length swimsuit, and white goggles, mentally preparing for my 100-yard freestyle event. I then pulled my goggles over onto my eyes and waited for the announcer to tell us to take our marks. He paused for a moment as a DQ Official walked over to the woman timing me and whispered something in her ears, scratching my name from her scorecard. As he walked away, she told me to step down from the block and that I had been disqualified. “You are not allowed to compete, you have been removed from all of your swimming events.” Unfortunately, I quickly knew what had happened. Because I looked different, and my skin was less exposed, I was removed from all of my races before I had even touched the water.
It hurt that not only was I the only Muslim-American Woman to be a swimmer in any meets but mostly because I wasn’t accepted for who I was. Even so, I shocked everyone by stepping back up onto my block and waiting to take my mark. Though it was difficult, I attempted to block out the noise, the looks, and the questions and dove into the water. I sang the melody in my head, “When life gets you down, just keep swimming, just keep swimming” for the 1 minute and 12 seconds that I had been underwater. I waited in the water as everyone was finishing their final lap and shook hands with the girl who came in a few seconds after I did. I said to her, “Congratulations on winning first place.”
As difficult as this experience was, I would not have been as tough as I have become today. I now proudly and confidently cover my body from head to toe. This event made me the strong, empowered, Muslim-American woman I am now. I didn’t take no for an answer as a result of being different. When trying out for varsity soccer the following year, I hardly noticed the looks I was getting as obvious as they may have been. And the year after that, I was awarded Player of the Game in two games, and Most Valuable Player on my team. In every moment of hardship, and whenever I hit a struggle, I learned to remember, that when life gets you down, just keep swimming.