It is that time of year again when all of my friends are back in school, complaining about the workload, their class schedule and the apparent lack of free time they now realize in their lives. School is a normal part of life for us teenagers, and when we graduate from college life will take over and we will have to go to work every day. I (kind of) look forward to those days, but have to tell you that I love my life the way it is now.
Because I am a competitive teenage sailor, I spend 6 or 7 days per week training to be the best in my sport. Sailing is one of those sports that requires me to be available when the sunlight and the winds are at their optimal levels for training. Unfortunately, that typically takes place in a place that is far away from home and at a time that is typically reserved for schooling.
The result of these training restrictions are that I have to spend the majority of the year away from home, training in Florida during the expressly cold winter months of Ohio and both training and competing on continents way too far (and cool to experience) to talk about in this post. fortunately I am able to work schooling in with a flexible schedule made possible by the Florida Virtual School (FLVS).
At FLVS, I am able to take my classes with me when I travel. For instance the next two weeks I will be training and then competing in the F18 World Championships in Long Beach, California. Even though I am in for some long days on the water (most likely training 7-8 hours each day) plus my gym workouts and running (my bike is still in Ohio), I will have my computer with me and will be able to get my classwork done in the evenings after dinner.
With FLVS, I am able to live a life that most teenagers do not get to even dream about. Without them I would not be able to train to win the US slot for the 2016 Olympics in Rio (my current goal). Just as important, FLVS provides a challenging curriculum that is preparing me to get into and be successful at any college I want to attend. Ya, its tough but I know it will benefit my future so I roll with it!
Make sure to follow my success at F18 Worlds over the next two weeks and if you are a teenager and want to be at the top of your sport, come down to Florida and finish school at FLVS with me!
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