Senior Mekha Daniel-Poulose began taking recreational gymnastics classes when she was five years old. Now, as a senior in high school, she just recently quit the classes, leaving behind a bittersweet ending to one of her forever constants in life.
Mekha encountered the difficult decision to quit her classes when she realized she would no longer have the weekly opportunity to do gymnastics in West Lafayette, Indiana, where she will be attending college at Purdue University next fall.
“My last class [of gymnastics] was really sad,” Mekha said. “In the beginning, I was just scared to go to college and quit gymnastics. But now that I’m starting to apply for housing [in college], it’s becoming more real and exciting.”
Mekha always enjoyed gymnastics from a young age. As a child, she loved being active, whether it was playing a sport or meeting up with her friends. But, gymnastics class is where she had the most fun. Sadly, with her time in gymnastics coming to an end, Mekha knows she will cherish the memories she has gained. As of recently, she got her roundoff-back handspring-back handspring, a complicated skill for recreational gymnasts to learn.
Even so, Mekha is extremely excited about her next chapter in life. Although she is nervous, she knows that she is ready to move on and turn the page into college. With the extensive number of colleges in America, Mekha had some trouble picking the best option for her. However, she landed on Purdue due to its exemplary education and school culture.
“I wanted to go [to college] for engineering,” Mekha said. “But that didn’t work out, so I applied for Industrial Design, and I got in. So, that’s why I’m going there. Also, my sister is going there too, so that also helped my decision.”
During her career, gymnastics helped Mekha become more outgoing and athletic. Throughout the strenuous conditioning and long turns on the bars, she also met several new people and discovered how to be more social in her everyday life. She also learned how to properly manage her time by balancing schoolwork, sports, and other hobbies. She would highly recommend everyone continue getting involved with physical activities throughout life.
“Being active, even after high school, can keep you mentally and physically healthy,” Mekha said. “It can help you live a long, healthy life, but it is also something fun you can do with your friends [that will] improve your mood.”
Some of Mekha’s fondest memories from gymnastics reside in her pride from learning a new skill. Whenever she learned a new skill, Mekha felt an overwhelming sense of accomplishment. In gymnastics, it usually takes lots of practice, dedication, and hard work on the road to achievement. It doesn’t come without its challenges, so getting a new skill was always worth the time and effort.
In her senior year of high school, similar to gymnastics, Mekha found countless new memories to carry with her for the rest of her life. Even though she hasn’t yet rounded out her final days of high school, Mekha is sure that senior year will be the capstone of her high school career.
“I feel like prom might be [a good memory], but I haven’t done that yet,” Mekha said. “The dances and the football games were really good memories to end off senior year with.”
At first, Mekha was immensely afraid of change and moving on from the life she knew. Now, having only 15 days left of her senior year, she’s found that change is inevitable and that it doesn’t have to be as scary as many people believe it to be. In fact, change should be something to welcome and embrace into life. She understands that it will take a long amount of time to adjust, but it is worth the tribulations to step out of her comfort zone.
“It takes time to adjust,” Mekha said. “But in the end, it’s the right thing to move on. The changes can be scary, but it will be good for you, and it will help you grow as a person.”
