Sedera Zbranak

Coming to RIT to continue my swimming career was exciting, and for the first half of my freshman year swimming at the collegiate level was everything I hoped it would be.
 
When our team went to Florida for training things didn’t go as planned. I knew it would be a tough week and I was motivated to work hard. Halfway through the week I woke with my shoulder frozen in place.
 
The following six months were a blur of physical therapy, pain meds, and doctors. It was frustrating standing on the sidelines and not being able to help my team. For someone like me who loves physical activity, it was almost maddening.
 
It took a while, but finally I accepted that things don’t always go as planned. I told myself the injury was a setback that I could overcome. I promised myself I would stay focused on the future and trust my rehab. Over and over again I said to myself it will get better.
 
Slowly it did get better. After all the rehab and months of hard work I made it back stronger than ever. The following season I qualified for the NCAA at our championship meet. The journey had many ups and downs, but deciding to never give up the drive and keep trying made all the difference.