College Evening Routines

Now that I live 2500 miles away from home and didn't appreciate the pool in my own backyard, I never thought I'd miss swimming. I grew up being a river rat where water skiing, boating and doing black flips off the diving board happened every weekend. My dad literally had me in the pool just a few weeks after I was born and as soon as they could, my parents signed me up for swim lessons. The smell of chlorine and the calming sound of rippling water is so inviting. Growing up in Southern California where pools were on every corner, it was easy to just grab your suit, hop the fence and spend the rest of your afternoon at your friends house hanging by the pool. Now that I'm living in the Midwest and trying to maintain an exercise routine, one of my favorite parts of the day is heading over to the Notre Dame aquatic center in the evening, swimming a few miles and then heading over to the student center to grab dinner and head back to my dorm. (images)