SPRING SPECULATION
This first semester has been a tumultuous introduction to university life. From juggling deadlines and remembering to sleep (usually) to learning the quirks of the RTS bus system and finding my way through the labyrinth of campus, it has been an unparalleled journey, and I’ve discovered as much about myself as I have about actual course material. This letter to my less-experienced self expresses my unadulterated reflections of this college voyage, with focus on the most impactful lessons, both serious and humorous, that I have learned from the University of Florida in our brief time together.
Dear freshman Cotton,
First, get a bicycle. That longboard of yours is no help when you’re heading uphill. Afterward, organize your calendar immediately! One of my greatest takeaways this semester was the productive power of a well-planned schedule. Understanding you as thoroughly as I do, I know you’ll readily accept any challenge and will quickly become involved in research, design teams, and university athletics, while maintaining your full class schedule. Time management may not have been a strength of ours in the past, but you’ll need every spare moment this semester, so with a new respect for the necessity of coordinating our obligations efficiently, it will presently become your specialty. Oh, and on the topic of schedules, next time when you register for classes, don’t forget to check the classroom locations; walking 8 miles a day just for class becomes quite monotonous. Utilizing your new calendar, make time to socialize, destress, and strengthen relationships; working all day may prepare you for an excellent career, but what value will it carry without loved ones to share it with? Once you’ve succeeded in settling in to your turbulent schedule, explore engineering research opportunities. While working in the NCR lab I’ve had the privilege to become involved in graduate-level robotics research within weeks of becoming an undergrad! In addition to developing unique programming and analysis skills, I have gained irreplaceable interpersonal and career skills such as synchronizing with a diverse team and investigating new solutions to obstacles. Design teams will inevitably boost your abilities further; with Gator Motorsports I have already delved into machining, design work, and even some CFD analysis of vehicle aerodynamics. These skills will not only be unavoidably useful as my career develops but have also already assisted in a personal experiment I hope to patent! Finally, as you handle this chaos, remember the importance of consistent sleep and build favorable sleeping habits. Take the opportunity to journal as you slow down for bed; reviewing your triumphs and mistakes is enlightening and well worth the sacrifice of a few nightly minutes. Stay focused, and welcome to the University of Florida!
Sincerely,
Your slightly-more-experienced self
January 2019
Racing Reflection
Rivers of adrenaline tear through your body; years of grueling training flash through your mind. “IN POSITION”, the official’s command echoes as the athletes get set in the final moment before the race begins. The roaring furor of the crowd disappears into silence, your surroundings fade away; only you, the track, and your competitors exist. Your senses have never been so keen. The one-second wait feels like ten, you hear your own sweat drip and splatter the ground. The starting gun fires.
I’ve had no other experience that compares with the rush of standing on the starting line 8000 miles from home, proudly wrapped in the red, white, and blue of the USA, only seconds away from the culmination of nearly ten years of training. My journey to reach Team USA and the Inline Speed Skating World Championship was an arduous, challenge-laced marathon, and it has molded me into the young man I have become. My skating career began as a new obstacle to conquer solely for the satisfaction of the challenge, but I was captivated by the sport’s intricacies and enthralled by the skill, strength, and strategy required to succeed. I eagerly anticipated my first competition after a year of training, but I was promptly humbled when the other competitors beat me with ease. The disappointment was palpable, and the lure of victory abruptly converted my involvement from a playful pastime to a powerful passion for perfection. The intensity of my training gradually increased; I frequently rose before 4 A.M., never missing an opportunity to improve. Three years passed, and after persevering through innumerable defeats, I had developed into a competitive athlete. The following year I qualified for and competed in the Indoor National Championship. I was far from the podium, but farther from deterred, and the defeat became my motivation, spurring my training to a new level. Skating was no longer just a part of my life, it had become it; hours every day I toiled, incorporating skating, cycling, weight training, running, plyometrics, and more. I sacrificed anything and everything that interfered, always grinding forward. That year I qualified for both the Indoor and Outdoor National Championships. Indoor I dominated, far exceeding my previous performance, and finally earning the title of National Champion, further fueling my competitive flame. The Outdoor National Championship, which also determines who will compete in the subsequent World Championship, was a welcome adversary. Outdoor skating was a new concept for me, and though I returned home without medals, I was not empty-handed. I held a new objective: Team USA. Six hours every day, over 40 hours per week, I labored to become the best. The intensity was indescribable; blood, sweat, and vomit were routine. When I returned to the Outdoor National Championship, I was a transformed athlete, prepared to triumph. I departed not only a National Champion once again, but also one of six men in the country to qualify for Team USA, with two months to prime for the most momentous competition of my life. There was only one way to further intensify my training; I traveled to Colombia to work with the fastest skaters in the world. Only days after my return from South America, I set off for the World Championship in Nanjing, China. Eventually, the day of my first race arrived. I was called to the starting line; I knew thousands of hours had prepared me for that moment. The starting gun fired. Pushing, shoving, maneuvering, and strategizing at near forty miles per hour, the race was brilliant, skillful anarchy, dramatic to witness. I traveled home medal-less, but this was not a defeat. My goals have once again been elevated, my training continues, and I will return to the World Championship.
Skating has served me on and off the track. Through the years of perseverance and constant mental and physical discipline, my confidence has skyrocketed, my focus has sharpened, and my diligence has become instinctive. The opportunity to coach and mentor others has been an unforeseen blessing as powerful as winning. I embrace these lessons as the chisels that have sculpted my character from the impressionable youth I was to the leader I am now, and the ‘roll’ model I strive to be. Bring on the World Championship. Bring on UF. I am ready.
November 2017
