Narrative: My Experience Learning to Swim (Essay Sample)

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My Experience of Learning to Swim
With each new day, new challenges and learning experiences emerge. For many people, learning a new thing is one of the most horrific but exciting moments. Personally, I take all opportunities positively with courage and belief that I have the abilities to learn a new thing before that day ends. Since my childhood, learning to swim has been one of my most inspiring prospects. However, it had for a long time been one of my hardest things because of my fear of water and the lack of courage to learn swimming. Every time I accompanied my fond-of-swimming friends to the swimming pool, I always saw it as risky experience because one could easily drown. Despite this, I viewed swimming as one of the most important life skills and a good form of physical exercises that would help me achieve physical fitness and strength. Also, I believed that I could become a more confident person if I learnt how swim.
It was a Saturday afternoon when I had my first opportunity to learn swimming. My friends and I were idle after leaving school. Nothing much was keeping us busy. We came up with many ideas that would be a source of fun such as fishing, riding bicycles, or skating. None of these seemed pleasing or funny. With little expectations, I suggested the idea of going swimming at a local recreational center. Although I had not learnt swimming, I was sure that I would find a trainer at the pool, who would teach me how to swim. Harmoniously, all my friends considered this as a good idea to spend a Saturday afternoon. Within no time, we prepared ourselves and left for the swimming pool.
It was after a few minutes that we got to the swimming pool. My friends who were experienced swimmers immediately changed into their bathing costumes and started enjoying the process. As for me, I had to first talk to a trainer who would teach me how to swim. With the swimming costume in my bag, I spotted a trainer relaxing by the side of the pool. I greeted him and introduced myself. He replied with a smile and was willing to be my trainer. He gave me a few minutes to change clothes and get ready for a challenging experience. Soon, I was standing by the side of the swimming pool prepared to acquire a new talent. As I waited for my trainer, two teenagers approached me. They were also beginners and had come to a swimming lesson. Although they were a bit older than me, they seemed relaxed and not embarrassed about their inability to swim. This made me feel at ease. Three minutes later, the trainer turned up and started providing us with the basic rules and regulations that we were supposed to follow as learners. Sooner than it was expected, we got into the pool.
The trainer directed us to put on water wings, which would help us stay floating. One of my fellows James had had one swimming lesson before. He was allowed to take a kickboard and go splashing by himself. The other learner Benjamin and I were told to grip firmly to the ropes tied to the side of the pool. Here, the trainer showed us how to swim the breaststroke. He told us to grasp to the kickboard while he pulled it through water. All this while, we were supposed to be kicking. Soon afterwards, Benjamin was allowed to do breaststroke by himself because he was a fast learner. After a few minutes of practicing, he was enjoying with other swimmers. As for me, learning to swim was not easy, but the trainer was very patient to me. As minutes turned to hours, the trainer was pleased with my breaststroke and now it was time to learn the arm stroke. This time, I was supposed to be keener because I had a double task of focusing on both my arms and legs. At first, I felt desperatel...