Happy September!
I figured after talking so much about rain yesterday and how much I enjoyed it, I should talk about the negatives of water and one time where I almost drowned.
I'll preface this by saying I took swimming lessons for several years as a kid. I vaguely remember hanging on the to edge of the pool in a part of the then-deep end for a second-grader me, my feet on the wall of the pool. I'm not 100% sure on how I felt at the time, but I'm pretty sure I was terrified. Ultimately those lessons never stuck.
So fast-forward to a 15-16 year-old high school me. I was at the local pool with some friends and they decided to go to this one big slide. I think it's about two stories up, so naturally the pool below would have to be deep to make sure no one would get hurt. At this point in time, nothing had changed in regards to my swimming skill 7-8 years later, but for whatever reason, I was convinced (by myself or otherwise) that I would be fine despite not really knowing how to swim.
We got in line for the slide and I recall being a little nervous. We climbed through the line and one by one my friends went down the slide. Eventually it was my turn. I figured I would be okay, "I'll probably be close to the edge or something so I can grab on to that." So I took the plunge--literally.
It all happened in a flash. I hit the water and sunk below the surface. I opened my eyes in the water saw nothing but darkness below; not the pool's bottom that my feet had grown so accustomed to, but just darkness, and I immediately felt uneasy.
I eventually rose up to the surface, but I was nowhere near the edges of the pool like I thought I would be. Naturally, I panicked. I tried to kick towards the nearest edge, however, like I said before the swimming lessons never paid off, so I ended up going nowhere, probably flailing more than swimming. My inability to swim started to drag me down into the water and I had trouble breathing. My fear was mounting and morbid thoughts began to fill my head, but just as suddenly as I had gotten myself into that situation, I was saved by the lifeguard.
Ultimately I had to fill out some form about the incident, which was in itself kind of embarrassing in retrospect. I think at the time though I shrugged it off and got back into the water (short end, of course).
I think back on that time every so often. It's where I usually go when I think about drowning; just fear. Though sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I wasn't saved in time.
I figured after talking so much about rain yesterday and how much I enjoyed it, I should talk about the negatives of water and one time where I almost drowned.
I'll preface this by saying I took swimming lessons for several years as a kid. I vaguely remember hanging on the to edge of the pool in a part of the then-deep end for a second-grader me, my feet on the wall of the pool. I'm not 100% sure on how I felt at the time, but I'm pretty sure I was terrified. Ultimately those lessons never stuck.
So fast-forward to a 15-16 year-old high school me. I was at the local pool with some friends and they decided to go to this one big slide. I think it's about two stories up, so naturally the pool below would have to be deep to make sure no one would get hurt. At this point in time, nothing had changed in regards to my swimming skill 7-8 years later, but for whatever reason, I was convinced (by myself or otherwise) that I would be fine despite not really knowing how to swim.
We got in line for the slide and I recall being a little nervous. We climbed through the line and one by one my friends went down the slide. Eventually it was my turn. I figured I would be okay, "I'll probably be close to the edge or something so I can grab on to that." So I took the plunge--literally.
It all happened in a flash. I hit the water and sunk below the surface. I opened my eyes in the water saw nothing but darkness below; not the pool's bottom that my feet had grown so accustomed to, but just darkness, and I immediately felt uneasy.
I eventually rose up to the surface, but I was nowhere near the edges of the pool like I thought I would be. Naturally, I panicked. I tried to kick towards the nearest edge, however, like I said before the swimming lessons never paid off, so I ended up going nowhere, probably flailing more than swimming. My inability to swim started to drag me down into the water and I had trouble breathing. My fear was mounting and morbid thoughts began to fill my head, but just as suddenly as I had gotten myself into that situation, I was saved by the lifeguard.
Ultimately I had to fill out some form about the incident, which was in itself kind of embarrassing in retrospect. I think at the time though I shrugged it off and got back into the water (short end, of course).
I think back on that time every so often. It's where I usually go when I think about drowning; just fear. Though sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I wasn't saved in time.
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