Daniel Trotier
Deep Water, Think Before You Go In It
Did you know, according to the International Life Saving Federation, that 1.2 million people drown around the world each year? That’s twice the population of Milwaukee! William Douglas wrote a story about himself, titled “Deep Water”, which is a chronicle on his fear of swimming and how he overcame it.
Scary experiences are something that every living being has in life. I bet there isn’t one person that has had a life without a life threatening moment. One thing that was scary that happened to me was when I broke my leg. I don’t remember thank goodness. My parents have to relay it to me. I was maybe 4 years old, I was running around the house chasing my brother. We had some cleaning people come to clean our floors so it was slippery. As I bolted across the tile, I slipped, then fell, and bam! My leg was broken. I was screaming and crying. My Dad took me to the hospital. Then I came home with a giant green cast on my right leg that was broken in 2 places, the fibula and the tibia. I had a full leg cast for about a month. After the full leg cast came off, I got a walking cast. The first day I had that cast, I threw up. Breaking a leg might be a scary or painful experience for people everywhere. It’s a normal thing that happens in life. A connection I can make is to a book called, “Between a Rock and a Hard Place”, by Aron Ralston. The book talks about his struggle while rock climbing in Utah. As he was climbing, an 800 pound boulder crushed his arm he was stuck. Eventually, he made a decision, he cut his own arm off and climbed down the mountain. There are similarities between “Deep Water” and this story. They both talk about a struggle of some sort and learn from it.
Learning something is a big part in life. You depend on learning for survival. It’s one of those things a human has to do. A major lesson I’ve learned is not to get in trouble with the wrong people. From past experiences, I learned you should have friends you can trust. That is a thing everyone learns. Well, I hope they’ve learned that. Ask anyone and they’ll say they’ve learned a thing or two, even If it’s something bad. Some people might learn to do something athletic, like swimming.
Swimming is something that can be scary or fun. “Swimming Away”, by Clare Reddaway, has one part about seeing what they thought was someone drowning, but that person was holding her breath. If there is one thing to do in the summer, it’s to swim. You can cool yourself down, have fun, and relax. One reason why I enjoy swimming is because most everyone does it. All my friends know how to swim. Even better, my house has an in-ground pool so I don’t have to go to a public pool or the YMCA. Plus, you can have parties. Other people who have pools enjoy them for some of the same reasons as me. They can serve as a business, gathering place, or a place for fun.
“Deep Water” is a good story. One that you can read and there’s always something new you can visualize in your head. I really liked it overall. William O. Douglas did a wonderful job writing “Deep Water” about overcoming his fear of swimming. This story proves that fears aren’t a giant road-block, they just appear big but are actually weak.
