For the Love of Water

I love water. Being in the water can feel peaceful or feel empowering. The weightlessness brings immediate relief. Swimming feels like flying. I used to play pretend in the pool. I would pretend that I was a mermaid or a dolphin in the ocean. When my parents would take me snorkeling in South Florida, I would try as hard as I could to swim down to the sand and twist and turn like a sea lion. I would press my ankles and my knees together and dolphin kick up and down and back to the surface for air. Snorkeling at the surface was not enough.

Now that I’ve been scuba diving and freediving for years, I still can’t get enough. I still play pretend. Now, I play pretend in the ocean wearing a mermaid tail with all my mermaid tail-wearing friends. I still pretend when I dive down to the reef that I belong there. I swim as fast as I can because it’s fun and it makes me feel good. It’s my preferred method of exercise. To be very honest, it’s the most exercise I ever get. Nothing else makes me want to push myself past fatigue and discomfort.

I never really cared for swimming along the surface. There’s a lot of splashing involved, and what is the point when everything interesting is below the surface? What’s more, you’ve still got one foot in the air. You’ve still got gravity pressing down on you. Down under the surface, gravity doesn’t mean much. I know people who have great difficulty sinking in the water; they’re natural floaters. When I’m under the water, the weightlessness feels like flying. The price you pay for that blissful feeling is suspending your air intake. It’s worth it. When I became a certified freediver, I became even more comfortable holding my breath in the water. I learned what was safe and what wasn’t.

If I could be in the water every day, it would be a dream come true. Until I figure out how to do that, I’ll keep practicing my breath holds and meeting with mermaids whenever I can.