Update in The Troubled Mind of a Helpless Teen

I am back in the water! We have been swimming for two weeks now, and it is wonderful. I smell like chlorine again, which feels great. I feel terribly slow, but we have not been in the water for about 3-4 months, so it will take a lot of time to get back to normal.

We have a strict system in place, and it is working very well. There are two people per lane, one on the wall and at the flags. I am supposed to be a wall person, but the person in my lane has always been much faster than me, so he is on the wall most of the time. I feel bad when I have to go first because he has to slow down (we are not allowed to pass each other, yet), but we have to follow coaches instructions. At least I am getting more exercise and hanging out with my swim family in person again.

Band camp, originally planned to be in person, was moved to a virtual setting. This is our second week of “camp,” and it seems to be working. They have us logging at least a mile a day on this app, Strava. So far, I really like it. My preferred form right now is biking, since we normally have to do this during the hottest part for the day an I can get a breeze if I move quick enough. I am feeling really motivated with my flute right now. Our second movement has an extremely fast run in the higher register that is hard to get down, but I have been practicing a lot more and am starting to get it up to speed, little by little.

With the flute practice comes more wrist issues, however. We have figured out that that is what most likely causes the pain. As a result, I now have wrist compression gloves. The area between my thumbs and first finger is rubbed raw from the fabric, but I am hoping the skin will toughen up soon so I can wear them longer. I am not sure how well the gloves are working since I have not had them long, so I guess we will seem how it goes.

I have been pumping out a lot of acrylic paintings recently. I usually paint pictures for people’s birthdays, and I have had three of them this month, all within a week of each other. I am enjoying it, though, enough that I asked Mom to order some fan brushes (somehow there were none in all the brushes we have from my aunt), and I cannot wait to try them out. There are so many techniques you can use with them.

Since the last time I have written, my cousins came down and visited. The main cousins on my Dad’s side. We have not all been together in a long time, so it was nice to see everyone and barbecue together. I also got to have nice talks with my aunt, who is very good with listening and not judging harshly. She also helps me see how hard I am on myself and the things I need to make time for (stress relievers). I have many plans, but I cannot fulfill any of them with the way I am right now.

That about sums up this update. I would say it was a pretty solid recap. I am off to write a little bit and then go practice the run I mentioned earlier.