2024 - A Reflection in the Rear View Mirror

As another year comes to an end, in this blog, I’m taking a moment to reflect on my experiences, events, and lessons learnt. Time flew by, leaving behind a mix of cherished memories and challenges. This year has been an incredible journey of change, growth and self-discovery. I am excited to share some of my highlights and key moments from 2024.


This was a milestone year for me as I graduated from Elementary school and went to Middle school. Over the past six years, I have many memories, and am grateful for the amazing teachers and classmates who were in my journey. As I reflect on my time in elementary school, I remember a valuable quote that has stuck with me: "Be Respectful, Be Responsible, and Be Ready to Learn”. As I’m writing this blog, I’ve now completed 2 quarters in 6th grade. Transitioning from one grade to another, drained a lot of my energy as I was learning to cope up with the new challenges of middle school. However, it was all worth it because I made a few new friends and got to experience many new situations in life. I joined the creative writing club and the model UN club which are a lot of fun. Along with learning the piano, I now have the opportunity to learn the clarinet at school. I’m learning a lot from my interactions with many new fellow students. The journey here has just started and I’m looking forward to a lot more learning and fun next year.


As for swimming, I’ve been on a roller coaster ride. In March, I participated in the junior championship meet, a competition that required months of hard work and dedication. I attended swim practice four times a week, combined it with running and stretching exercises. After putting in the effort for several months, I finally achieved my goal to compete at this meet. One of the highlights of the event was the parade for kids in my age group, where we walked around the pool deck dressed in our Hollywood-themed costumes. My teammates looked amazing, and I was proud to be a part of it. My favorite part of the meet was the relays. I'm grateful for the support and feedback from my family and coaches. Another exciting experience I'd like to share is my first PEAK performance swim camp in Florida. During the camp, we had to be at the pool center from 8:45 am to 4 pm each day. I made many new friends and was part of a group with two elite coaches who had coached Olympians and NCAA champions! Our group was a lot of fun, and we often joked around with the coaches. One of my main struggles before the camp was my dive which didn't give me the advantage I wanted in races. After five days of intense training, my dive improved and my body became more conditioned. My coach shared important race preparation and mental strategies that helped me take my game to the next level. I'm looking forward to attending another camp like this one next year. In July, I competed in several swim meets during my long course season. Although I practiced almost daily, I wasn't consistently improving in my events. After reflecting on the experience, I realized that my mental preparation before meets was a major factor in my performance. You can read more about the lessons I learned from my blog post: https://www.hanikachhajer.com/2024/08/life-lessons-in-pool-swimming-my-way-to.html 

As I look back on the year, I've come to realize that reaching the championship meet isn't just about swim practice; it is also about being focused. In 2025, I'm committed to building my mental resilience.

This year, my grandparents came to visit me and spent 3 weeks and that made me very happy. We visited a few places but mostly spent time at home talking, playing games and eating a lot of delicious food. I also got to celebrate my 11th birthday with my closest friends at Top Golf. We got to travel a bit as well. As a family, we did 2 trips this year, one to the Smoky Mountains and the other to the Rocky Mountains.

I’ve been consistently writing a blog or two every month this year as well. I got to interview very interesting people and learnt a lot from them. I also ventured into writing short stories and poems as well. I will not lie but sometimes, I experienced writer's block and would feel demotivated but my parents kept pushing me and worked with me to get past this. Writing takes some patience and also time management. I’m looking forward to more writing in 2025 as well.

One of the most challenging habits that I hope to overcome in 2025 is not being true to yourself and others at times. This is a difficult habit but I found myself doing this many times either out of fear or anger. I am determined to break free from it next year! There are other very important moments in my year but these are just highlights that I will always remember. 

As I was reflecting, I’ve made a list of things I would like to focus on in 2025. They are:

  1. To be more responsible, accountable and plan my time appropriately

  2. To be true to myself and my activities

  3. To work harder both physically and mentally for my swimming

  4. To experience a new country

  5. To learn and try out something new

This year was awesome and I loved every single moment and look forward to achieving and growing even more than I did in 2024. 

Wishing all of you a happy new year!!

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