Swimming :: essays research papers

SwimmingLearning something new can be a shuddery experience. One of the hardest things Ive ever had to do was learn how to swim. I was always afraid of the water, but I decided that swimming was an important skill that I should learn. I also thought it would be good exercise and help me to become physically stronger. What I didnt realize was that learning to swim would also make me a more confident person.New situations always make me a bit nervous, and my first swimming lesson was no exception. After I changed into my bathing suit in the locker room, I stood timidly by the side of the pool waiting for the teacher and other students to show up. After a couple of minutes the teacher came over. She smiled and introduced herself, and two more students joined us. Although they were both older than me, they didnt seem to be embarrassed about not knowing how to swim. I began to feel more at ease.We got into the pool, and the teacher had us put on brightly colored water wings to help us st ay afloat. One of the other students, May, had already taken the beginning class once before, so she took a beef cattleboard and went splashing off by herself. The other student, Jerry, and I were told to hold on to the side of the pool and shown how to kick for the breaststroke. One by one, the teacher had us hold on to a kickboard while she pulled it through the water and we kicked. Pretty soon Jerry was off doing this by himself, travelling at a fast clip across the short end of the pool.Things were not quite that easy for me, but the teacher was very patient. After a few more weeks, 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. originally than I imagined, however, things began to feel right and I was able to swim It was a wonderful free feeling - like flying, maybe - to be able to call for across the water.Learning to swim was not easy for me, but in the end my persistence paid off.