I remember clearly the day when I had my first swimming lesson. It was dreadful, for I was afraid of water. However, I had no choice. My parents insisted that I should take up swimming.
Fortunately, my parents had engaged a very supportive instructor. He understood my fears and was patient enough to see me through the first lesson that must have been demanding for him.
First, my instructor wanted me to spend some time at the wading pool to gain confidence. The water, which reached a level of no more than 45 centimetres, was warm and comfortable. That was a big relief for me and made me less fearful. My session at the wading pool involved walking on hands along the pool bottom, kicking the legs as I moved. As I became braver, I tried successfully to take my hands of the bottom of the pool. I was glad I could do it.
Then I graduated to the medium pool to learn to float. The water was shallow, coming up to my waist. I learnt different ways of staying afloat. I lay on my back, arms and legs, stretched in a star shape, with my instructor holding me up. Very soon, I got my balance and felt buoyant. I was floating with my body totally relaxed next; I lay with my face in the water, with arms and legs outstretched. I tried to float a number of times. That was rather easy; I enjoyed it.
I gained a lot of confidence from what I learnt in my first swimming lesson. It made me interested in swimming and I wanted to move on. In the subsequent lessons, I learnt new swimming skills.
It is more than three years since I took up swimming. Today I take part in swimming competitions at the national level and have won several prizes. For all this, I am grateful to my parents, who first persuaded me to take up swimming, and my first instructor, who taught me to swim and gave me the confidence to do well in the sport.
Vocabulary
Supportive—giving help
Demanding—requiring much effort
Buoyant—able to float
