Personal Narrative: My First Swim

Swimmers, place your feet.... take your mark... GO! The buzzer blairs and I’m off the wall at my first swim meet. Just one lap of backstroke, I thought to myself as I raced. But, as I continued to swim this lap felt longer than it should've . I never swam backstroke for this long in practice. I continued to swim before deciding to take a quick glance to see where I was compared to the wall. I snuck a look to my side and couldn’t find my lane! Pulling myself vertical in the water, I realized that I swam out of the meet during the event without noticing. I panicked, nothing else could properly describe my reaction. Fear began to take over and logic eluded me. I couldn’t remember how to swim. The water began to viciously pull me down while I struggled to force myself to the surface. The more I struggled the further my body plummeted beneath the water. I gasped in fear and felt water rush into my lungs. Suddenly, arms wrapped around me and pulled me to the surface. A fit of coughing followed as my face flooded red with exhaustion and embarrassment. I thought to …show more content…
I decided to become a swim instructor and a lifeguard in order to prevent kids from experiencing the same primordial fear that I felt when I started drowning. As soon as I got my certification I volunteered my time to lifeguarding local meets in case somebody ended up in the same horror that I was in. I also decided to spend my summers lifeguarding and teaching lessons. I worked 40 hours a week at the community center pool in addition to my swim practices, social activities, and other commitments. I requested my boss allow me to teach little kids lessons in order to allow them to not have to be afraid of drowning. I pride myself in being able to teach these kids the basics of swimming as well as being requested by parents for the next lesson session. My instruction of these kids helps prevent them from failing when they go to swim on their