Chlorine No. 5

Photos like the one above joke about chlorine being the perfume of swimmers because no matter how many showers you take; there will always be a hint of pool lingering on your skin.

I remember being in high school gym class and having to run three laps around the gymnasium before we began class every day. One of the first days, we had just finished our warmups and someone standing near me said, “Wow, it smells like a pool in here.” That was the day I realized just how powerful chlorine was, for the smell was me. I had swam that morning and only rinsed off rather than fully showering since I knew I’d have gym in a couple hours and would shower afterwards anyways. I was never a shy person so I laughed and spoke up saying, “Yep, that would be me,” realizing people had already come to the conclusion for themselves.

For a while though, I would get so embarrassed if someone said I smelled like a pool because while I enjoyed the smell, I worried others did not. After about a year of swimming, I began taking swimming more seriously and found out some people called me “the hot swimmer girl.” (I was proud of my body for all of the work I put into it, but I never would have thought that title would be used on me) I started embracing what it means to be a swimmer and all of the rewards and challenges it brought to my identity. Chlorine: the smell of hard work, determination, and perseverance.