A Most Beautiful Thing

by Arshay Cooper

This week, I have gotten a sense of what being a teammate is all about. More than any other sport, rowing instills discipline and skill that you can only obtain by spending hours of beating your craft. Unlike ball sports, there are no superstars. Just eight rowers that have to move in the same exact way at the same time to push the boat forward. Ken was right; it’s not all about athletic abilities but work ethic. What you put in is what you get out. At the Penn Boathouse, these college rowers are on the water at 5:00 a.m., then on to school, and back to the boathouse. I have never seen such discipline. I want this hunger to work hard on the water and off the water. I notice that most rowers are white, tall, and lean. I am none of those things. So, my goal is not to change that about the sport, but to add to it. Rowing is also about trust and if we can’t do that we can forget about this season. On the West Side, one of the first things you are taught through rap music and from your parents is Trust No One. I am not sure how you undo that, but I’m willing to try. I will start with at least talking to each of my teammates because we barely do that.