My First Experience in the Blue Water

I could not believe my eyes. I had finally made the cut for the college swimming team. I was a freshman in college and had dreamt for such a moment. My brother who was a sophomore had told me exactly what to expect, tough competition! I had managed to beat over a dozen of boys, all seeking to make the cut in much coveted swimming team.

“Congrats buddy.”, said my brother, as he handed me a towel to drape over my body. “I knew that you had the steam to make it to the team”, he commented. “It is me against you once again”, he exclaimed. This was in reference to our high school years where we had been good teammates but bitter rivals in the pool. This had given us a competitive edge, the medals on our rooms were a sign of our success. 

As I sat down on the beach, drying the water of my body, memories of my first experience in the blue waters of the swimming pool flooded my mind. I could not believe the journey that I had gone through.

It was it during the summer holiday when our parents had taken my brother and I to the summer camp. I was 8 years old, two years younger than my brother. The summer games were fun but basking on the sun was even better. I remember the sight of the swimming pool, blue waters, with splashes of people having fun. I admired them. I observed one girl, about ten years, who would enter in the pool in one end only to reappear on the other end. How I envied doing that! 

On that day, our parents had paid for a coach to give us some lessons. Dressed in my pair of shorts, I was ready to conquer the unknown blue territory. First entered my right leg down the stairs into the pool, then the left, water was rising up, up my knees, my thighs, up to my waist. This experience sent chills down my spine. After some urging from my coach and parents, I decided to face it, I laid my body on the surface of the water. The next thing that happened is that I was sinking fast, I could see the tiles on the floor of the water. As I tried to breath, water gashed down my throat. The coach grabbed my hand and pulled me out as I coughed and spat water through my mouth. The only thing that seemed important at this point was air, as I gasped loads of it. Looking at the boys I had defeated today, I was glad I took those first steps into the blue pool waters