RASOL, Haya I.

HUMSS 12-1

Swimming Lessons Gone Wrong

Learning something new can be a scary experience. One of the hardest things I’ve ever
had to do was learn how to swim. I was always afraid of drowning into the water, that’s why I
have thought of swimming as an important skill that I should learn. I also thought it would be
good exercise and help me to become physically stronger. What I didn’t realize was that learning
to swim isn’t always that easy just like what I have watched on movies and read on books.
New situations always make me a bit nervous, and my first swimming lesson was no
exception. After I changed into my swimming attire in the comfort room, I stood timidly by the
side of the pool waiting for my cousin and her friends to show up. After a couple of minutes they
came over. My cousin waved her hands at me and at the same time her friends showing their
delicate smiles. The fact that they were older than me made me feel embarrassed about not
knowing how to swim. I began to feel awkward and shy.
We got into the pool, and my cousin gave me an empty gallon to help me stay afloat
while her friends were busy enjoying themselves at the water. I was told to hold on to the side of
the pool and shown how to kick for the breaststroke. My cousin had me holding on to the gallon
while she pulled it through the water and I kicked.
Things were not quite that easy for me, but my cousin was very patient. After a few more
tries, when I seemed to have caught on with my legs, she taught me the arm strokes. Now I had
two things to concentrate on, my arms and my legs. I felt hopelessly uncoordinated. But then my
cousin invited me to go to the deeper part to swim with her friends. “Mas mapiya ko madalem ka
an ka makasuwa lumangoy.” she said. I was a bit startled but I did go on. But as I feel my feet
not being able to touch the ground, I began to panic. “Aidoo, diyako. Kiyadalem. Kasoy ako!
Kasoy ako! Buka’e ako nga!” I said. But she kept on holding me tight while laughing and kept
on going to her friends. I panicked more and my tears started to fall so I begged her to let me go
instead because I don’t want to learn anymore. My cousin and her friends laughed and soon
enough she let me walk back onto the side of the pool.
Learning to swim was not easy for me. That experience made me go through a series of
emotions. Not only did I panicked and cried but it made me fear that if I ask someone to teach
me how to swim, they would do the same. Until now, I haven’t learned how to swim yet because
I kept on remembering that experience. It always gives me chills because I have drowned once in
the past and that feeling of being hopeless in the water, alone, is unpleasant.
But I’m really trying to shove those feelings away whenever someone tries to offer their
hand and help me learn how to swim. I may feel uncomfortable to begin with, but I know that as
I practice being in that situation I will feel more and more comfortable. It might be a bad
experience at some point but a lesson that I have learned is that at the end of the day, you can
only trust yourself during good days and mostly on bad days.