Page 6 - Elvin Chan 145979 Reading Texts and Vocabulary Project (Individual)

NARRATIVE ESSAY

I Learnt How to Swim

I was always afraid of the water, just the thought of being inside a swimming pool is
daunting. One day, however, I decided to enrol in a swimming class. I believe it was an
important skill that I should learn. Also, I thought it would be good exercise and help me
become physically stronger. What I didn’t realize was that learning to swim would also make
me gain more confidence.

My mom drove me to the local swimming school for my first swimming lesson. We
were half an hour early. Honestly, to say that I was nervous is an understatement. After I
changed into my bathing suit in the locker room, I stood timidly by the pool as I waited for the
swimming coach and other students to show up. After a few minutes the coach came over. She
smiled and introduced herself as Coach Reed. Later, two more students joined us, a boy and a
girl. Although they were both older than me, they also smiled at me and we introduced each
other. I began to feel more at ease.

We got into the pool, and Coach Reed had us put on water wings. She explained that
these would help us stay afloat. One of the other students, Aaron, had already taken the
beginning class once before, so he took a kickboard and went splashing off by himself. Coach
Reed told the other student, Hellen, and I to hold on to the side of the pool and she showed how
to kick for the breaststroke. One by one, Coach Reed had us hold on to a kickboard while she
pulled it through the water and we kicked. Pretty soon Hellen was off doing this by herself,
travelling really fast across the pool.

Things were not quite that easy for me at first, but thankfully Coach Reed was very
patient. After a few more weeks of training, I seemed to have caught on with my legs. Then,
she taught me the arm strokes. Now I had to concentrate on both my arms and my legs, but I
was so uncoordinated. I felt hopeless, I almost wanted to give up. However, Hellen and Aaron
cheered me on and motivated me to carry on. Sooner than I imagined, things began to improve
and I was able to swim properly. Coach Reed was smiling from ear to ear to see all three of us
successfully learned swimming. It was a wonderful feeling to be able to shoot across the water.

Learning to swim was not an easy task for me, but thankfully, my persistence paid off
in the end. Not only did I learn how to swim and to conquer my fear of the water, but I managed
to form friendships with Hellen and Aaron. Now, we practise swimming together every week.
At the end of the day, I feel proud of myself that I can prevail from a situation that I find
challenging.

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