The swimming class was a requirement. The petite freshman was not going to miss getting her degree from the university because she was timid about being in large bodies of water. The housing of the pool was an enormous space in one of the athletic buildings. The pool was an Olympic-type (165’ long; 56’ wide (8 lanes , each 7’s wide) and contained a half million gallons of water. The shallow end was 3.5’ deep and gradually sloped to 13’ at the deep end. Under the water along the sides of the pool were huge round spotlights set in the deep blue tile walls. The shape of the lamps water distorted under the movement of the water. The petite young woman was glad that the class was going to be working at the shallow end for the first few weeks of the semester.
The entire group stood in the shallow end and listened intently as the instructor gave an overview of the work for the semester. There was one rule about which the instructor was emphatic. When you were ready to get out of the pool, you looked for the nearest pool edge, you moved towards it, and only reached for it when you saw you were right there at the edge. If you reached before you determined the nearest edge, you might reach for the edge and not find it. Its absence could cause you to panic. The worst-case scenario could be drowning. This was the first vital lesson.
A few classes later, treading water was the lesson to be learned. Again, the lesson started at the shallow end of the gigantic pool. The student was comfortable in the pool with her classmates all around her in the shallow end. During the session, she became somewhat fatigued with the moving of her arms and legs simultaneously, but she simply stood up in the pool for a few moments to rest and then start moving her arms and legs again. On she worked—at times really treading the water. Then, the whistle sounded signaling the end of the class. Students quickly got out of the pool to shower, dress, and get on to the next class. The student calmly lowered her legs to stand. There was no bottom. She reached to the right for the edge of the pool. It was not there! She was facing the deep end and all she saw was most of the half million gallons of pool water. The enormous pool lights quivered beneath the midnight blue water. She sensed that she was the lone remaining person in all that chlorinated ocean and she PANICED! She had not realized that while she was practicing treading, she also had been moving from the shallow end of the pool. The petite freshman whipped the water because she was frightened to the point where there was no logical thinking. She could not find her voice to yell for help. She kept beating the water!
Something hard touched her right shoulder. For the first time, she looked to the right, away from the vast amount of water ahead her. There was her instructor extending a wooden pole with a leather loop at its end. The freshman grabbed the loop and the instructor gently pulled her to the edge of the pool. Quietly, the instructor asked the freshman if she wanted to get out of the pool. The petite young woman with a trembling but clear voice said, “No.” She knew that if she left the pool then, she would be afraid of water for the rest of her life. For a few minutes longer, enough time to calm herself, she remained in the massive pool, and dared to look at the water and the lights. When calm reigned within, she got out of the pool.
Reflections
There are those circumstances in life that frighten us to the point where we do things that are harmful to ourselves. We have the choice to run away or to face the difficulty with the determination that we will not be overwhelmed.
Was the petite freshman ever alone in the Olympic-sized pool? Explain your answer.
What was the one certainty even as she was beating the water?
How are you dealing with any pools of difficulties in your life?
Dorothy Watson Tatem, D. Min., ACC
Senior Associates
Next Step Associates, LLC
Cassandra W. Jones, Ed.D.
CEO & President
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