The Most Memorable Days Of My Life

The moment occurred and I felt a rush: a rush of terror and adrenaline. I was having fun then the next minute I heard the screaming from my sister. Feeling the beads of sweat drip down my neck I’m not sure if it’s the heat or the fear. The next few minutes felt like a lifetime from hearing my sister cry out to acting out a scene from Baywatch. I looked into the crashing waves to see Silus, a young boy of only seven years, in the water and knowing though we were only five feet away from the lifeguard zone I had to be the one to save him. I sprinted down the beach and plunged into the rough waters. Fighting the treacherous waves, swimming to the young boy, and raising him above the waves crashing overhead. I drag myself and the boy out of the water placing him onto the warm sand. I check to make sure the boy was unharmed, assisting him with clearing the saltwater out his

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

For starters, I was embarrassed by the mental image of myself flailing around in the water and for what I perceived as making a mockery of the team I represented. Not only this, but I became livid with myself, for the hardest and fastest I was able to make my body move still was not enough to comply with my personal expectations. The vow I created on the car ride home still stands in effect to this date; to strive to my greatest potential, making the goal universal for every characteristic of my life.

Once I was afraid of bodies of water since I did not know how to swim, now I am in love with any activity that has to do with water. I was raised in the Dominican Republic, a caribbean island, where it is customary to throw one’s child in the deep end of a pool so that their natural instinct of swimming is awakened. I was not the case. My mother pushed me to the water and amazingly enough I did not panic. Instead of panicking, I accepted my fate and sunk down. After about 30 seconds in my cousin dove in a took me out. Once out of the water, I began to panic. Consequently, I began crying, shaking and screaming at my mother for throwing me into the pool. Shortly after that my mother placed me in swimming classes and everything changed.

Our refreshing day at the lake was now a day of oppressing heat. Despite the more than warm weather, I had not exercised at all that day. In an attempt to get in a little of the daily exercise recommended by my soccer coach, I swam to the neighboring buoy. The buoy was about 50 feet away from the boat dock. The swim was not far, but it was far enough to make me breathe hard. It also made Katrina, Madison, Lauren, and Olivia, who had followed, breathe hard. Behind them, closing in on the buoy, were my mom and two younger brothers slowly paddling on their floats. About 6 feet from our destination we drifted upon a shoal. The shoal was rocky, muddy, and algae-ridden. When the filthy red and green mixture of algae and mud squished between my toes I cringed and refused to lower my legs

Touching on how the Navy trains seals, the viewers got to see how candidates deal with their fear of drowning. Entering the water with bound hands and feet, the men were seen trying to refrain from panicking while undoing the ropes. This practice exercise didn’t have one candidate respond well as he started to get

It was very difficult for me to not start crying. That one dive had destroyed my chances of getting the personal best I’d been so close to achieving. I am proud to say that I was able to keep it together and finish the meet with a good dive. By then I was exhausted, but I had made it through the meet without letting that show. After my last dive I noticed how throughout the entire meet I hadn’t compared

Lifeguard classes were 2 days that consisted of CPR training, swimming laps, and learning rescues. When we first began, there were three of us sitting at a table on the pool deck with an outdated rolling TV. I was handed a 100-page lifeguarding manual my eyes bulged out of my head, the butterflies in my stomach multiplied. Looking through the book, watching rescues and talking through every question I had calmed my nerves. But the statistics of drowning still haunted my mind, 360,000 people died from drowning in 2015 (WHO). All though at the YMCA in Red Oak hasn’t had a drowning,

“How are you feeling?” I once heard a voice asking from behind. I turn around to see my coach standing there with a big smile on her face. My eyes lit up and the insides of my body start tingling. My heart starts beating faster than it already was. I try my best to put on a soft smile even though I was feeling stressed. Nervously, I responded, “I feel okay.” In roughly two minutes, it was going to be my turn to swim the most important event of my high school swim career, the infamous 100 meters Breaststroke I’ve been swimming ever since I was six years old; only this time would be my last chance to make a State cut in the event. These next two minutes felt like a life or death situation. So many things were going through my mind, I quickly gathered my nerves and reminded myself that this was it. It was everything I’ve been working towards for for the past four years. It has been my goal ever since I joined Swim Team freshman year that I would qualify for State to swim in the A Girls Relay as well as an individual event of my own. Out of the two, I’ve only succeeded one. Before my coach left to get into position and watch this fascinating race, she did her best to calm me down. She whispered a secret tip she used to do before her races. She advised me to cough. This may seem weird at first, but the tip was to cough when you feel like you are going to have a panic attack. Cough when your heart feels like it is pounding out of your chest. Cough to reset your systems. Cough to

The next part of the training turned out to be the toughest. We were required to dive ten feet to the bottom of the pool and retrieve a ten pound weight. Once the weight was brought to the surface we were supposed to tread water for two minutes while keeping the weight above the water line. This appeared to be simple so I dived in, expecting an easy time. I had no trouble getting the weight to the surface and proceeded to tread water with a feeling of undoubtable success. But once again my anti-floating physical quality began to take effect. At one minute and thirty seconds I began to sink and within the next fifteen seconds my head was submerged and I was fighting for air. The water from the pool began flowing into my mouth with each desperate grasp for air; it felt as if an ocean were draining into my body. I remember hearing from under the water the instructor's muffled voice counting down the last ten seconds of the exercise. When it was all over I slowly made my way back to the pool's edge where I was informed by the two young girls that they had no difficulty

A Memorable day in my life, was, when I went to Walt Disney World. I remember the day like it was yesterday. My Trip to Disney World was the most joyous time in my life. There were so, many things to do, for the whole family to enjoy. My trip Walt Disney World was like a fantasy. Visiting Walt Disney World was more like, an escape from the real world. Visiting Walt Disney World Was an experience. I had the chance to see all of the Disney Characters , That, I've seen on television come to life there.

On the first day of training, I met my instructor and the other trainees. We watched videos on what we would be doing, and as I was watching those videos I was thinking that this would be easy. The next day we started the physical part of training. We started with scenarios where victims were washed onto shore. We had to establish the situation, learn the proper way to carry them, and establish if CPR is needed. Later that day we moved on to establish if we could swim well enough. I was part of a swim team so swimming wasn’t a challenge for

Throughout my life, there were many days that were significant; however there is only one day that stands from the rest. The most important day of my life is the day I graduated high school. Graduating high school was an emotional day because I felt prepared to exit one stage of my life and optimistic for the next step in my life.

As a kid Sundays were my favorite day. It was full of family time with my two older brothers, my younger sister, and both my parents. My brothers were typical teenage boys and even though they annoyed me and my sister, I still looked forward to Sundays because family was the most important thing to me as a kid. Our average Sunday began by going to morning Mass and afterwards we ate lunch together. My dad’s favorite place to eat was Olive Garden, so we would go there often. My dad was my hero because he always put his family first and made me feel safe. My dad was the breadwinner of the household and worked to provide for us while my mom stayed home to look after the kids. Although looking back we weren’t very rich, my parents still found ways to make us happy and give us the things we wanted and needed. Little did I know my world was about to come crashing down.

A tradition in my family that has been going on for my whole life is Sunday morning hikes with my father, sister, and our dogs. The place where we go varies from week to week, however, there is one spot in particular that will always be my favorite. The trail we hike is called “The Trail of Death” because of its difficulty, however the views and landscapes are some of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen. Tucked away in the Pocono mountains, this trail came to be one of my favorite places to go. This trail allows me to gain a sense of nature that I have yet to experience anywhere else. The sights and sounds of the woods along with the memories I have made with my dad and sister have given this park such a substantial place in my