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I never really liked swimming when I was young. I didn't quite hate it, all my memories were just about lagging behind the other kids, barely catching up. And it was all so competitive back then. I learned swimming in what you can call any other public swimming pool to be which offers swimming lessons. I remember hating to drag my body there because I realised how much I lacked, and how much I struggled to keep up. And back then, I was hella insecure-- I could barely make friends. Even the younger kids were better than me. I couldn't even spare catching a breath without the coach barking complaints at me. My lungs always ached, and I was always heaving, short of breath.
Recently, I took up swimming again in the summer. It was mainly because I was bored at home, anxiously waiting for the college to start. Besides, I have been quite indolent. I needed to have a good outlet for working out without being so conscious of myself and my environment. I was quite nervous when I enrolled in (this was a different pool with a different association providing training) and I didn't quite want to be bossed around when I swam.
I never felt as relaxed as I do now when I swim. When you take out the brutal rat race, at the core of it being one with the water remained. I swam at my pace for so many rounds, excited to go a few extra stretches each time. I felt like I fish when I no longer forced control; it felt natural to me. Gliding through water, I noticed the little details I had never noticed in the anxiety of my previous experiences. The way the sunlight gleamed underwater in the tiles of the pool, scattered by the water. It was like looking into a kaleidoscope. The way a stray leaf somehow lay at the bottom on its own while some floated above, and the way the water felt so cool around my skin. I was somehow having fun. I was being regular and frequent, something I barely managed to do when I was younger. As I let my apprehension drown for that hour in the pool and embraced my own pace, I felt one with the water, a part of the whole.
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Ser4fIsTired
I've never liked swimming either. When we were in school, they would force us to take up swimming classes to get a "swimming licence", whatever that is for. It was competitive with things such as holding your breath as long as you can underwater, which I hated because I always had to swim out first, doing endless loops back and forth and jumping into the pool which I was terrified off (now thinking about it, that pool was way too shallow for safe diving). And one of the girls almost drowned me by accident. Kids are stupid. Not to mention that I hate my body, and surprisingly, getting almost-naked in front of everyone doesn't help with it!
I don't have to say that I never got that "swimming licence" thing...
...Until I went to the sea. The water was cold, so there was almost no one else in the water. It was fun. Just swimming a couple meters at a time, spinning around and such. Of course, the swimsuits are still barely tolerable. But it was nice to just sit in the water and do whatever I wanted at whatever pace I wanted.
Also, I just realized that in those dreaded classes they had never taught us any technique and I learned that I need to keep my fingers together when swimming from Genshin Impact swimming animation. No comment.
i feel so glad to see someone having such a similar experience as mine. thank you for sharing your story. it's really strange how pointless competition is promoted. dont get me wrong, competitions help to improve, but i think space to let someone grow and breath should be the priority.
by pong; ; Report