GYM: DEAR WASHINGTON

Monica Riley reflects on her time at Washington // 4.26.19

By Washington Huskies

April 26^th, 2019

DEAR WASHINGTON,

Thank you. Thank you for providing me a home for four years. Thank you for providing me a world-class education. Thank you for letting me do gymnastics for a top-ranked team and for competing for something bigger than myself. Thank you for getting me out of my comfort zone and helping me grow as a teammate and as a leader. And thank you to the support system that made all this possible.

Six years ago, I committed to Washington to continue my gymnastics career and to receive a top-notch education. I didn’t know what my future would hold moving 2,000 miles away, but I was willing to take the leap of faith (and thankfully my parents were too) because I had trust in the culture of the gymnastics team, I saw the potential growth of the program, and I knew that I would be nurtured and taken care of by the coaches, the trainers, and everyone else around me.

Fast forward six years to the present day and I’ve recently finished my 18-year gymnastics career. In my time here, my team and I qualified for Nationals for the first time since 1998, and we did it not once, but twice. Not only that, but we finished out the 2018 regular season ranked eighth, the highest regular season ranking in school history. I saw this potential when I committed here, and I am so glad I was able to contribute to the legacy of this program.

Our team’s success did not come easy. The drive for excellence was only possible through the grit of each team member. Week after week, we all bought into the overarching plan and we were willing to buckle down to put in the repetitions with an extremely high standard. Of course, there were many days when I was tired, sore, and not sure if I could do it, but I was continually reminded that my mind is more powerful than my body, and I could do whatever my mind told me I could do. Finding that inner strength was what got me through those difficult days and what helped me improve as a gymnast.

Fortunately, learning about the power of the mind is just one of many skills that can be transferred outside the gym into real life. My days of physically doing gymnastics are over, but the impacts of being in the sport will last a lifetime. Washington has taught me grit and self-discipline; you get out what you put in, particularly when no one is watching, and pushing through the days and weeks when it gets tough makes the outcome even sweeter. Gymnastics taught me how to deal with pressure and to focus only on the things I can control. I am about to enter the corporate world where the pressure is always high, but if I can put my nerves aside and deliver a hit routine when my team needs me the most, then I am confident I can handle it in my career. Finally, Washington taught me what a team should look like. When everyone knows each other’s roles and we know it takes each and every one of us, then we can perform as one unit and push ourselves to be better than we were before.

Gymnastics has always been a huge part of my life and it’s something I am extremely passionate about, but I am also passionate about doing well in school. Part of that came from wanting to have a life outside of gymnastics and most of it came from wanting to be the best I could be in all aspects of my life. I chose to commit to my academics because gymnastics would be over at the end of my four years, but my career would just be getting started. Being accepted into and graduating from the nationally recognized Foster School of Business was extremely difficult but as the saying goes, “Nothing worth having comes easy.” That was certainly the story for my time at Washington. It wasn’t easy, but it was worth every blood, sweat, tear, late night, and early morning because I am proud of my gymnastics career and the degree I am about to earn. Because of this school and the people around me, I am a better and stronger young woman.