Swimming, My Adult Extracurricular Activity

Learning how to move underwater around tiny swimmers taught me that it’s okay to give a new thing a try

Sort-of swimming with Nina, a young dolphin in The Bahamas.

In the water, I got to be terrible at a thing and not admonished for it. I remember sticking my head in the water to blow bubbles for the first time and feeling like I may not make it back up. But this time, there was no yelling, judging, or wooden sticks.

So in 2020, I started my swimming journey. In our neighborhood’s community center, I dipped my foot into the water for private lessons with an instructor. Babies and toddlers — and the stray adult — paddled in lanes all around me. Although it took time for me to get the basics with the months-long break due to Covid lockdowns, I knew I wanted to keep coming back. A lot of that had to do with it being the complete opposite experience I had in dance.

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Senior Platform Editor at Medium. Girl with the long last name from the Empire State. NYU Alum. Runner. Puppy Mommy. Smiler.

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Jada Gomez

Senior Platform Editor at Medium. Girl with the long last name from the Empire State. NYU Alum. Runner. Puppy Mommy. Smiler.