Swimmers by Bryce H.
When I was little, we used to make yearly trips to my grandparents' home north of Lisbon. It
was incredible, crystal clear water and the warmest sun you´ve ever known. It was the perfect
place for us kids, it was amazing. We learned the culture, the language, and thrived in the sun-
soaked beauty of Portugal. Sadly, I was only a couple of years old so I wasn't really a swimmer, it
just wasn't quite my time. But one day my entire family; my grandparents, my parents, my aunts
and uncles, and all my cousins were there. We went out on the boat that day, and like a dummy, I
decided I wanted to be like the rest of my cousins and go in the water. So I waddled my way to
the edge of the boat, stared out at the water and all of the fun my cousins were having and
plopped right in. I immediately knew I had made a mistake jumping in so far from the boat. The
elders were all cooking dinner and listening to music and talking while the kids played in the
water. I don't know what possessed me, a kid of 6 who for some reason didn't know how to
swim, to jump into the water. I started to drown and my cousins were swimming around the other
side of the boat and hadn't noticed me so I was all alone, terrified.
After what felt like hours, with water in my lungs burning me like a hot iron, my
Grandfather heard me and came to the edge of the boat. He saw me struggling to stay up, so he
did what he always did, went into hero mode, and jumped in after me. He finally got to me,
grabbed me, and held me as he swam back to the boat. I got up on deck, coughing up water like a
fountain, everyone screaming as to ¨what possessed you to jump in that water? You can't even
SWIM!¨
To this day, I don't know how to swim and I'm terrified of the water. At 18, telling people
you don't know how to swim is definitely an experience. In June, I´m going to senior week with
a bunch of kids from my class, and I'm terrified of going in the water. Thankfully, at the end of
the day, almost drowning taught me that, much like swimming itself, life is a sink or swim
activity but that sometimes life will give you a little life jacket, like my grandfather, to help you
make it through.
