When you do something you’ve never done before it’s nerve-racking. You can’t possibly know how it will turn out, good or bad. I was in the position where I had to do something I’d never done, and wasn’t about to be the party pooper saying, “I can’t do that, so we need to find something else to do.” Being myself, I had gone along with plans, wondering what the result of my choice would be.
I was at “The Cabin”, a regular gathering spot for my friend group. This cabin belonged to Solomon, who was generous enough to let Riehle have some friends out there that afternoon for her birthday. Everyone in attendance was Riehle, Alexis, Essie, Solomon, Reece, and me. We had plans to go out on the boat for swimming, not knowing it was going to rain that day.

It was decided that we all had wanted to still go out on the boat, even though it wasn’t as nice of a day as we all imagined. On the pontoon, we were cruising around trying to decide if swimming was actually a good idea because it was chilly and windy but wasn’t raining quite yet. I thought I had gotten out of putting myself to the test of sink or swim. Just as I had started to feel relieved, the boat stopped, and Reece jumped off, close behind was Solomon.

In that moment, I knew I had thought too soon. Before I knew it Alexis, Riehle, and Essie had joined Solomon and Reece in the wispy-looking, chilling water. My brain had froze…what would be my excuse for not going in or would I really have to test my luck?

Next thing I knew, I was in my swimsuit with a wad of my warm clothes next to my feet at the back of the boat. With about 10 feet in between me and the water, I had some real quick questions for myself. I thought, “What are you thinking? How do you even stay afloat? What’s going to happen if I can’t swim? Maybe I shouldn’t do this, maybe they won’t care if I don’t join them.”
Solomon and Reece had thought it was hilarious to tease me, urging that I was too scared and couldn’t swim to save my life. Little did they know, they were spot-on when they were saying that. I had never mentioned that I hadn’t ever tried swimming before. I had a fear ever since I was little that I would never be able to swim, petrifying me of the deep, murky water.

Unfortunately, I don’t take teasing very well. The next thing I knew, I was feet above the water with nothing in between to stop me from having to save myself. In that moment, I knew what I had done wasn’t in my favor. I remember looking at the five others in the wavy water, struggling themselves, people who had been swimming all their life. I wondered how I was going to pull off a miracle saving my own self from what I’d been hiding from for as long as I can remember, water. The smell of the algae and fish made me cringe as my toes hit the water first. No life jackets around to save me, but luck. I clenched all my muscles as the rest of my body hit the burning cold water. The rush of adrenaline going through me had me in shock, which caused me to unplug my nose as I was submerged in that icy blue liquid. Not sure what was happening to me, I started kicking for dear life to come back up to the very far out oxygen my lungs needed. What had felt like an eternity, I miraculously bobbed up above the thin line where water and air met, gasping, and choking on the water I had let in through my burning nostrils.

I had overcome my first problem, coming back up for air, but how was I going to stay afloat. Not knowing what to do to keep my heavy head above that thin line, I began sloshing and wailing around. Trying too hard, I began sinking and gurgling the fishy water as I went down.

All I had to do was calm down, relax my muscles, and steady my treading pace. I finally ran out of breath and eventually was relaxed by the lack of oxygen, sending me back up for air. I finally got the hang of it, but still not knowing exactly what I was doing. Relieved I had not just let my life slip out of my hands taken away by the water.