My name is Ekaterina Dvornitsyna; I was born in Russia and lived there until the age of fourteen. I am nineteen years old and currently studying to be a Pharmacy Technician at Mohawk College. My life might not be very long so far, but it feels like it has been quite a journey already. As long as I can remember myself, swimming has been the big important part of me. This sport taught me to listen to the coaches and other adults surrounding. Practices helped to focus my energy in the correct direction. Lack of time educated me on how to make my work more efficient in less amount of time. I spent over ten years training and it might seem like swimming is an individual sport, but it also is very crucial when it comes to team work. A chain is no stronger than its weakest link, and we work on keeping each chain link at the highest level possible. After finishing my swimming career I started to work as a swimming coach. Working in the field gave me experience with communicating with kids and their parents.
Part of my life that influenced me the most was when my mother was diagnosed with cancer. My mother did not speak a word of English at that point; therefore I was the one making all the arrangements. This experience gave me a lot of knowledge in many fields needed for the adult life such as home bills, medical fields, documents needed to live in Canada, tax returns and much more. I was the one taking care of her while she was sick, taking her to hospital for chemotherapy, radiation, and emergency situations. In my mind I believe that my life formed my identity. My sport taught me how to be a leader and work efficiently, my new country taught me how to respect others and how to adapt to the new environment, and my mother’s sickness taught me how to be an adult and the knowledge needed for future life.
