When I was nine years old, my mom forced me to learn to swim, saying that it was a vital skill so I could save myself when drowning in water. It was just the beginning of my battles struggling in water.
The swimming pool was in a university campus. There was a woman moving through the water in fluent up and down motions like a professional butterfly stroke swimmer. She was actually my coach, and I had almost forgot her what she looked like, but I was certain that she was strict, which made me a little afraid of her. Also, maybe it was because of my natural fear of water, but I strongly resisted swimming. What’s more is that both the coldness and depth of water made me shiver on the sidelines. Without being one hundred percent prepared, I would not jump in the water.
One of my classmates was also learning how to swim in this swimming pool, however, he was a much better swimmer than I was. He could swim without a swimming board freely, alongside other children, each of them heading towards the opposite side of the swimming pool like a dolphins. With my eyes on their splashes of water, I could only struggle to keep afloat even with a swimming board and staying in the same place. My mom always compared me with him, which made me even more annoyed. I hated the cold water, the strict coach, continuously swallowing water and the unrealistic contrast between me and my peers. But I had no idea how to change the situation. I was just a kid who had to do what my mom forced me to do.
It seemed that I had made no progress at all after several days. However, my day did come. “You need to swim half the pool back and forth without a swimming board.” My coach’s words were like cold edge of the knife, sticking into my uneasy heart.
I asked my mom for help in a panic, hoping that I could refuse this deadly task. To my despair, my mom was an accomplice to my coach, agreeing with the nightmarish task. Finally, I had to face the inevitable as I had expected. Hearing the command to 'go', I tried my best to perform the breaststroke motion with my arms and legs moving strenuously. My strength ran out in a very short period of time when I had just got halfway across the swimming lane. Boundless amounts of water ran into my mouth and stopped me from opening my eyes. All of a sudden, I dimly saw a boy swimming towards my direction. It was the only life-saving prospect for me at that time! I took hold of him tightly and without hesitation, and he hastily struggled to get rid of me but it did not work. Both of us sank in the water, and my mouth was filled with the taste of chemicals. Well, it was the taste of swimming pool water. I could not remember how much water I swallowed, I just heard the shouting of the people around us. Maybe my mom was included among these voices. I knew that my coach must have saved us, but this part of my memory is unclear in my mind. This scene was not pleasant but it stuck in my mind.
“I apologized to that boy’s mother, I feel very guiltily." My mom told me, but she sounded like she was blaming me.
“But I could not swim in deep water area especially without a swimming board!” After saying that, I had childishly hoped that my mom would give up forcing me to learn how to swim.
“No way!” My mom still insisted on asking me to swim. “Even if I do not force you to learn other skills, you must succeed in learning to swim because it is a life-saving skill!”
Her tone was firm, so I knew that it was impossible for me to escape my struggle in water. Even though this experience was terrible, my mom never evaded this topic, she sometimes even shared this story with others on her own accord. It seemed like it was a funny story for them. To my surprise, even my classmate who was good at swimming came to ask me about that embarrassing experience.
“Well, it was a terrible experience, but I would begin to try to swim well!” I told myself in my mind.
Everyday practice was boring and repetitive, but I could swim better than in the beginning, and sometimes I could hear my coach praise me secretly. Although I made my mom disappointed at first, she still kept me company on the sidelines. I knew all my progress came from my persistent struggle in the water.
After a long period of practice, in the afternoon, my mom asked me to swim for a whole lane without a swimming board, which I had never tried before. I had no interest in it, but an idea appeared in my mind involving a blueberry.
On the way to the swimming pool, there were many fruit stores selling all kinds of fruits, among which there were blueberries that caught my eyes. Every day I could see them on the shelves. However, I had never tasted blueberry since it was too expensive for me as a kid with little money. However, its looked cute and has a legendarily good flavour, which attracted me deeply.
“If I can swim for a whole lane, I want to buy a box of blueberries!”
“OK.” After a short think, my mom agreed.
“And I can only swim in the dock lane so that if I sink I can save myself!” I made a second request.
“That’s okay. Let’s start it.”
I was ready for this rare chance to get some blueberries. I started to perform the breaststroke motion, but this time I could control my action with ease, seeing the destination closer and closer. Half way across the pool, I thought I was in deep water area, so fear arose in my mind. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed my mom following me on the bank, and blueberries seemed to stand in my destination. I decided to go for it even though it was the first time I swam in the deep water for such a significant distance without a swimming board.
“Keep fighting! There is only a little ways to go!” I could hear excitement in my mom's voice.
Holding my last breath, my hands finally touched the destination, the edge of the pool. I could not suppress my joy, a big smile on my face. My mom also on kept her promise, taking me to buy a box of blueberries.
“Just a little box of blueberry costs 30 yuan, it is so expensive.” She said, but was hiding a smile. Maybe both of us thought it was a worthwhile gift.
Since then, I haven't been afraid of water anymore, knowing that I can also swim well, instead of just struggling in water. Just after I left that swimming class, my mom signed up for a class to learn to swimming so she also eventually learnt successfully.
I still swim in my spare time to stay healthy and I think I swim better than many other people. But those embarrassing and funny experiences remain in my mind, reminding me of the fact that I could not be who I am now without having struggled in water.