Laguna students have a freestyle approach to life. Students who decide to opt out of the streamline selection of curricular sports, dive into the opportunity to pursue independent sports. For senior Melissa Silva, junior Abby Corpuz and freshman Tatym Levine, swimming serves as a way to engage their bodies mentally and physically.

Tatum Levine: “I swim competitively for Santa Barbara Swim Club, and I have been swimming for about six years. My favorite events are the 50 meter freestyle and the 100 meter freestyle. I don’t exactly know why I swim, but it relieves my stress and keeps me fit. A lot of the time I want to quit, but I have put in too many hours and have made too many sacrifices to stop, and that is what keeps me going. Swimming has taught me to never give up. When you are in the middle of a super long, hard set, most of the time you just want to rest, but you can’t do that, you have to have motivation.”

Abby Corpuz: “I swim because being in the water relaxes me and it is also a great way to get in cardio without beating up your knees. I have been swimming since I was four, and I have been swimming competitively since I was 6. My favorite stroke is the butterfly. It is hard but definitely rewarding. Through swimming I have learned that nothing comes easy, especially swimming a good time on the 500 fly.”

Melissa Silva: “I have been swimming for six years, and I like swimming because there is enough variety to keep me from getting bored. There are four different strokes you can work on, and within in each of the those, you can work on drills as well. I used to swim at the Santa Barbara Swim Club, which was pretty competitive, but now I just swim on my free time. I have gained discipline from swimming. When I was at Carpinteria High, I would have to wake up at half past four and be at the pool by five. I also teach swimming at the YMCA in Montecito and I have been doing so for a little over a year. It has been a super fun experience because I teach kids between the ages of three to eight and they make things really interesting and fun.”