Beach Lifeguard

I started lifeguarding because it was a natural transition from being a year round competitive swimmer since I was nine years old. I thought it would be a great full time summer job my sophomore year being that most people under the age of 16 find it challenging to get a part time job.

As a lifeguard, it is my personal responsibility and duty to preserve the peacefulness and protect the lives of every patron that enters the pool. This holds true especially at Baker Park (Edward P. Thomas Jr. Memorial Pool), for the pool often reached maximum capacity within an hour of opening, not including the daily two hundred children we get from day campps, such as Boys and Girls club and YMCA. While I guard the pool and perameter, it is crucial to exhibit all three qualities of Ready, Respectful, and Relentless, for anything can happen instantly which can interfere with the public safety of everyone, including myself.

It was a sunny Friday afternoon when I decided to take my observations with me out into the world. This day happened on my spring break, in the beginning of April, my senior year. As I walked upon the beach the salty, floating breeze of Panama City was enough to make my knees go weak. I looked into the clear blue sky and saw the perfection of life. I took a moment to gaze about what nature has offered to me. Everything on this beach has its own unique feel and it has its own way of making you feel calm and relaxed.

It was such a beautiful day out, the weather was perfect. Temperature was around a good seventy-nine degrees, sunny and with a light breeze rolling in off the waves as the crash along the shore. The sound of laughter, happiness and nature all in one filled the air. People from all walks of life enjoy their holiday in their own way on the beach. Footprints in all sizes, some are small and some are huge, spread over the

The world is full of heroes. The brave men and women who serve in the armed forces protect the United States of America. Local police help ensure safety in cities and towns. Firefighters save lives daily. Doctors perform life-saving surgeries. Heroes are found everywhere. Although some people seem to forget, lifeguards are heroes too. I recently sent in an application to be a lifeguard at the pool on campus. I was discussing hours with a classmate who is currently employed, and he told me that the hours were long, but often a shift would pass without a single swimmer entering the water. Another classmate interjected saying “You can do your homework while you work.” Lifeguarding is not the easy task portrayed in movies. Guards do not suntan and talk to girls for the duration of their shift. Rather, a lifeguard’s duty is in the name: guarding the lives of patrons. The work of these heroes is often gone unpraised. The job is disregarded as an easy way for teenagers to make money, instead of the true challenge it offers to the employees. The process of becoming a lifeguard requires more than blowing a whistle. It is a commitment involving intricate knowledge acquired through training and experience. Lifeguarding is a serious commitment.

thought I knew everything about being a Lifeguard. Working at the Melnea A Cass Pool gave me the opportunity to actually save someone's life, and work on myself. Saving someone's life as a lifeguard was almost anticlimactic, it started with a typical busy day at work, having roughly 200 people at the pool which meant all eyes on deck and I couldn’t even count the amount of times I would have to say things like, “Don’t run” or “You can’t eat on the pool deck.” Having my fellow guards behind my back during a busy day like this was reassuring, but that reassurance didn’t mean I could slack off. During the middle of the day A young girl whose name I never had the chance of getting to know was struggling to keep afloat in the deeper part of the pool. As a lifeguard I am trained to know what is actually drowning and what playing around looks like and with that, moments later I actually realized that she was drowning in the 6 foot part of the pool. Never really having to save someone before, I hesitated to act at first but remembering everything I experienced that alone drove me to jump into the pool after her across the pool and bring her to safety at the edge of the water. I remember her crying and running away from me to her family, even when I needed her name for the documentation. My manager Amarri came and let me know I did a good job and he told me I needed to go back to watching the water, and like that I

‘‘The Lifeguard’’ by Mary Morris is a short story that focusses on change over time. A lifeguard accustomed to be the lord of all he surveys and with a big self-esteem, has a rude awakening when he proves deficient in the first aid needed to save a toddler, Becky, on the beach. The author demonstrates that we realise what we have only when a shattering event occurs. Trough characterization, foreshadowing and symbolism, Morris infers that once we realise what we have, it’s too late.

One could only feel the dangerous rip tides after swimming away from the shore. Her last, with Tea Cake, is the most beautiful beach known to man. It is tranquil and serene, reflecting on her

The National Crew is quite demanding from what I have heard from friend who have been apart of the program. You need to be able to withstand several weeks of 56 hour work weeks, with unideal conditions, in a wide variety of difficult environments.

The aroma of the salty ocean breeze dances around me. The ocean splashes onto the million small grains of sand while tickling the feet of the diverse people who travel among it. Music of the waves sing in perfect unison with sound of the natives playing their drums, their beautiful harmonies fill the resort while they wait for generous people with anything to spare. I look around and embrace every small detail, like the small sand crabs that scurry across my newly pedicured toes and the shattered shells that gouge into the bottoms of my feet. I find my way to the brightly colored hammocks filled with people reading the magazines filled with all the fake information about Justin Bieber and his new girlfriend, or the perfectly picked novel just

My daughter’s first birthday, which was July 18th, 2007, is a day that I remember like it was yesterday. We had already celebrated her birthday with the family over the weekend, so I had just planned to do something small with her. I decided I would take her to Water Works, a community family aquatic center that we lived by. When I was younger, my family would get a membership every summer, and I couldn’t wait to do the same with Lauren. My sister, Amanda, who was watching our four year old nephew Charlie, was off that day, so they came along too.

A lifeguard is a salvation between patron and water. A lifeguard oversees the safety and rescue of swimmers, surfers, and a variety of water sports. Lifeguards demonstrate of being strong swimmers and must be certified in CPR/AED, first aid, and water rescue skills. The Bureau of Labor Statistics classifies a lifeguard as Recreational Protective Service Workers; which is a sector of the Recreation Worker. Lifeguard, as an occupation, is clumped with Ski Patrol, and other Protective Service Workers. This occupation is part of the service industry and employees about 145,100 people in the U.S. The mean hourly wage is, $10.89 and mean annual wage is $22,640. As a worker in the Protective Service Sector means that my job has no influence on the

The sun was starting to rise over the ocean as I walked on to the beach, for my first day as a beach lifeguard at Seven Presidents Park in Long Branch. Growing up on the Jersey Shore, I had dreamed of being a beach lifeguard since I was a little girl gazing up at the lifeguards high up on their chairs. Now, I was finally going to be in one of those guard chairs. My stomach began to turn as I thought about the prospect of having to rescue a drowning person in the surf.

Just as I sit down on the sand my mind starts to unwind. The many spectacular sights jump at my eyes. As far as I can see there is turquoise water in front of me. Surfers wearing their bright colored suits grab their

The sun’s rays glisten across the water as my family and I lie on the golden sands of the beach to relax. Seagulls and other families are scattered around us along the length of the beach. My mom, my sister, and I lie next to each other, listening to the waves crashing against the ocean bank.