Class 9

5/18/12

Today was the big day. The last day of lifeguard class. The day we'd find out if we really had what it takes to be a certified lifeguard. I didn't plan to be nervous at all today because I was supposed to finish all my tests yesterday and relax and watch other people take their tests today, but because I slipped up yesterday, I was first up on deck for today. And I won't lie, I was nervous. I was scared out of my mind. If I messed up this time then that was it. Two-hundred dollars down the drain. So when I walked into the pool, I was pretty much ready to get that class over with.

Much to my dismay, we didn't launch directly into the tests, but had a final lesson about pool chemicals. This gave me a little bit of time to relax and focus on something else, which was probably a good thing. We learned how to test the chlorine level of pool and we toured the filter room. Pretty basic things, but also pretty important things for the daily running of a pool. After that, we got suited up to finish the rest of the water tests.

Like I said before, I was first up to finish my deep water rescue, so I climbed up the huge chair and put my buoy on. I was a little bit worried because the chair was so tall that jumping seemed hazardous, but I figured once adrenaline kicked in that it wouldn't be a problem. We started the scenario and I immediately began to scan the water. I spotted the "victim", jumped in, and finished the rescue smoothly. I did it! I passed! It seemed like the key thing was to not think so hard, to just relax and let my instincts take over. Needless to say, the rest of class was a breeze after that. I spent the rest of the time hanging out with some of the other kids in the class that I probably wouldn't see after the class was over.

I was so happy to get home and tell my mom that I had passed and to go to school the next day and tell my teacher that Imani and I had finished the hardest parts of our personal projects.