Swim Lessons As A 25yr Old

Ok, so ever since the new year started, part of my “resolutions” have been to finally try something I’ve always wanted to. One of these things was learning how to swim. I knew I had some trips coming up here I’d be near the ocean so I definitely wanted to be more comfortable with the water. I learned that I am very afraid of a large body of water, even when my boyfriend and my family rented a cabin with a small lake in the backyard, I couldn’t even bring myself to get on the paddle boards because just the thought of falling in had me shook.

And in the name of unlocking a new level for my trips I decided to take the plunge. First, I had to find somewhere to take the lessons. Of course I was able to find somewhere near my house (perks of the suburbs) and surprisingly it was a very reasonable price!! For only $53 a month I was going to the aquatic center every Saturday morning for a group lesson. They also had weekly sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays for the same amount.

The group sessions, I was pretty nervous about. However, I was the youngest person in my group, so I definitely didn’t feel intimidated or out of place. I will say that group learning has it’s challenges with everybody trying to be the next Kevin Hart, or simply due to different learning styles, however, it wasn’t too imposing to where I would want to do individual sessions instead. Everyone is pretty cool, and it’s mostly dominated by the ladies so it’s a nice little outing. Since I was a part of the Saturday lessons and there’s only about 4 Saturdays in a month, I went over the same concepts every month pretty much. The first class always goes over the concept of going underwater without holding your nose, and the foundations of front floating. It may sound simple for some, but yall I needed this class! I don’t understand why it was so hard to understand the process of going under water without holding your nose without turning into a blow fish, but hey this was my money working hard! I also have to mention that my swim instructor is amazing, he’s always one with a joke, he’s very patient and does a very good job in explaining and demonstrating the concepts he teaches us.

The 2nd class, we go over front floating and then a little movement to match. This is usually my favorite class, because by this point I start to think I know how to swim, but don’t worry the 3rd class always puts me in check. It is something about gliding on top of the water that puts me in a flow state. Now usually the 3rd class, my instructor takes the class to the 12ft section, where we climb in and station ourselves on the wall and one by one he’ll lead us into a front float across the corner of the pool. I’m not going to lie but for this half of the class I have not worked up the nerves yet. And I want to soooooooo bad, but yall… I don’t think yall understand. I am going to try next month though to at least go in and climb onto the ledge and maybe the month after that I’ll get the courage but for now, it’s on my bucket list. Anyway for the first 30 minutes of this class I’ll usually sit in the bleachers or do some practice on my front floats and then once they’re done we spend the last 30 minutes introducing back floating.

This is definitely the one thing that is holding me back and preventing me from advancing to the next class!!! I don’t understand why it’s so hard but for the life of me I cannot float on my back. Actually-I do understand why it’s so hard, it’s like I can’t relax (which is the only word everyone uses to teach someone how to) because I am just not comfortable in the water. I do try to let myself sink on my back so that I get the jitters out of the way and the fear of falling into the water under control because it’s inevitable but yeah, the back float is just not my thing. The way my classes are set up is he teaches the same thing every month due to it being a group lesson and at the beginning of each month the class resets, with new people just looking to learn the basics. He does teach an advanced swim class but I don’t think im ready to make that step just yet. I can’t even back float, remember?

All in all it’s a great thing to do on a Saturday morning, especially since I’m in the era of doing more hobbies, and wanting to get out of the house more. And the more I take the classes, the more I’m becoming more…… tolerant of the water. We’re just not there yet to be honest with yall, but hey I’m still here!!!

What about you? Do you know how to swim and if not would you ever consider swim lessons at your current age? Why or why not.

Until next time,

Khyra C