People were actually approaching me on the street and thinking that I was an athlete. They couldn't quite place it, but a runner, or swimmer or something.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
In high school and college, I was an athlete.
I was an athlete when I was growing up.
I was a terrible athlete and a pretty bad student. I couldn't focus. My imagination was always racing.
I was afraid I would see someone from my past who thought I was this big athlete, and then I end up being just normal.
People wanted to be friends with me for not the right reasons. They'd introduce me to somebody else as the Olympian or the swimmer. I didn't want to stand out. I wanted to blend in.
I always tried to hide the fact that I was an athlete. I just wanted to be normal.
I still can't believe I'm an Olympic athlete.
I played soccer, and I was the kid who ran the wrong way, or I was pretending to be some sort of zebra and I would flail my arms and kick up my legs.
When I was in first grade, the kids called me 'fatso.' It hurt, but the way I overcame it was to outrun every kid in the class. So I developed a thick skin, and athletics became my way of performing and being accepted.
I know that I was put on this planet to be an athlete.