Aquaphobia

Few years after I mastered my butterfly technique, I moved to Auckland. Time passed by and I never went into the water. Every time we had rare swimming classes during our PE class, I have always made excuses to skip swimming classes. Then I moved to a top grammar school with many gyms and swimming pools. They had both outdoor and indoor 5 meter swimming pool.  During June and July (winter in NZ), our class was scheduled to swim during the two months of freezing winter. Even the indoor pool was freezing cold. Since I did not swim for many years, I completely forgot how to swim. So I went to the beginner class with my friends and learned the basic technique. However, one day, at the end of the class, we had to swim across from one end to the other. Therefore, I decided to swim across the shorter horizontal side of the swimming pool to go the changing room. I took off my lifejacket and welcomed the dangerous water that welcomed me. I swam in free style, trying to remember the way I swam when I was little. But I could not hold my breath for the entire way. I struggled to reach to the end but I stated to panic. I was stuck in the middle of the pool and was starting to drown. I struggled to reach the surface and cry out for help. Then I forced my body to move toward the end of the pool and I craved for the air. I got out of the swimming pool and was exhausted. From this day, water became my phobia and my enemy.