ENC 1101
Introduction
As a kid, it would be hard to know what changed your life, but it is only after you mature and realize how much that particular action changed your behavior or personality do we really appreciate, or rebuke such an act of the past. This is precisely what happened to me. I grew up in a neighbourhood which was close to a sports complex that included tennis courts, a swimming pool, a gymnasium, and basketball courts. I was interested in swimming but afraid of water, and when my mom took me there on weekends, I would pretend that I could swim and walk for most part of the session in shallow water. This continued for a few weeks until, one day a friend of mine, and who knows how to swim, accompanied me to the swimming pool. She represented her school in the inter-school competitions, which meant that she could swim well. Reaching the swimming pool, my friend hurriedly changed into her swimming dress and jumped into the pool and began to swim. I was shocked and frightened, as my mother had told her that I could swim well now, which I couldn’t. I did manage to learn to swim, but was very careful not to go anywhere near a depth of more than four feet. When she asked me to join her in that part of the pool where the depth was over six feet, I tried to feign I had cramps and got out of the pool. I knew I could swim in the pool where the depth was just four feet or under, but was frightened that I could drown if I went into deeper water. That morning changed my life. If not for her, I dread to think what would have become of me. That incident on that fateful morning was about to change my life.
I had always wanted to swim, but the fear of drowning had me procrastinate it. However, when I had a dream one night that I was swimming in a pool, I wanted to learn to swim, and asked my mom to take me to the swimming pool. It took me six weeks to learn to swim and I could swim confidently in shallow waters. But the fear of drowning in deeper water stopped me trying to swim longer distances. That day, as I was swimming in the shallow part of the pool, my friend, who was swimming from one side of the pool to the other, suddenly pushed me into the deeper part of the swimming pool. I was stunned and frightened, and began to struggle to keep myself afloat. She slid her hand under my belly and lifted my body from drowning. I could feel something pushing my body up, and as I began to float, I stopped struggling and pushed my body toward the side of the pool. This didn’t take much effort, and it suddenly dawned on me that I could stay afloat if I didn’t panic.
As I reflect now on what happened on that fateful morning, I owe my success to my friend. She taught me how to overcome fear, and I use the same principle to overcome any challenge I face in life. I have lost the fear of failure, and take challenges head-on.
