“He who is not everyday conquering some fear has not learned the secret of life.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson

Yesterday I participated in my very first triathlon. Yes, it was a “mini,” so the distances were not unbearable, but I did have one big obstacle. That obstacle was part one–the swim. I can bike and run, but I am most definitely not the best swimmer in the world. In fact, I’m not even a good swimmer. There were two pools for swimmers. One was three feet all across, and one ranged from four to 12 feet. What pool do you think I coincidentally got placed in? The “big kid” pool! With this, you can imagine how afraid I was to even start the race. 

As I watched the people go before me, I had so much anxiety built up inside. I was afraid of many things: not making it the full…