As you all know, I like swimming. Swimming is one of my favourite things to do, on a hot summer day. When I was very young, I used to like to splash around in the water. Then soon I started to learn how to swim without floats. It used to be great fun! During the pandemic when we had gotten stuck in Madurai, I experienced something that was way better than a swimming pool. It was the well by the paddy fields! That time I was missing going to the swimming pool, so my dad took me to his grandmother’s house in Dhalavaipuram. From there we can take a 5 minute drive to the well. To get to the well we need to walk through the sludge and make sure we don’t fall, and if you do, what a great mess you will find yourself in. At first, when I had gone to the well, it was filled to the brim. So I thought it was a little swimming pool in the paddy fields. Nobody had told me that it was going to be deep so I wasn’t scared. It became my weekend routine and I went there, all through the pandemic.
Much later, after school started, my parents told me that there was going to be an inter house swimming competition in school. At first I did not give much thought about it but when my school told me that there will be 100m and 25m, I got scared. I had never been to a swimming competition before, so when everyone said the word meters, I thought I won’t be able to do it and I was very scared! I begged my parents, to not put me for the competition. I was being very grumpy about it. But they said, I must try and that it will be fun. It did not matter, if I win or not but I should still try and I did.
When I went for the competition, and saw the 25 meters pool, I was so shocked! It was so small. I was sure that I would be done with it in a jiffy! When I was called for the race I was nervous. But once I jumped into the swimming pool, all my nervousness went away and I successfully completed the race and won the first place. I was happy of course but then I remembered that I had a 100 meter race as well. I had to compete in the race with kids who were 5 to 6 years older to me. I wasn’t sure if I would have the energy to do it. But I tried anyways. Though I did not get a place, I was happy that I completed the race successfully at ease. It broke the anxiousness that I had, and made me more confident. Therefore, from this experience, I have learnt to always give new things a try and never give up.
