I have a fear of drowning. I would really love to get rid of this fear because during the summer, the most fun thing to do is going to the beach, or hit the pool. My place is right by the beach, and yet, I don’t go. The fear could be irrational because I hardly remember why I was afraid of water in the first place.

I remember as a little kid that I was playing in the pool. I was just sitting in the shallow in. All of a sudden, I slipped in. The only thing I remember after that is a guy taking me out of the pool.

The reason why I don’t go into pools is because I’m afraid that I’ll slip. It really has nothing to do with standing in the pool. I know I can do that instead of swim. At the same time, I don’t have any confidence in standing because I feel like I’ll always slip on the surface and fall in.

Going to the beach is a little better. Mostly because I feel like I can dig my toes into the sand and not really worry about wet surfaces. I don’t have a problem walking far out in a beach, walking very carefully.

I don’t really know how I can shake the fear. Lord knows I don’t want it. I want to be able to hang out with my friends by the pool instead of kind of being the loner on the chairs. Maybe I should do some floating, or just meditate in a pool of water. I think I have to be comfortable with the idea of being underwater and knowing that I won’t die everytime my head is submerged.

Until then I basically avoid a skill that should be universally known. You can also so say that I’m probably afraid to get over it. I know there are people out there just like me. I just want them to know they are not alone.