Looking back.. why i want to learn to swim

Those who had been able to swim since they can remember might even say that of course you learn swimming by yourself, yes, you jump into the water, and you swim.. that’s how you learn to swim. Unfortunately some of us are scared the hell of being submerged in water and some have been scared since they can remember. I’ve always felt sorry for myself for not being able to swim, but there was not much motivation to start learning. But then I went to Tioman Island for my honeymoon and got on a snorkeling trip. No worries, you don’t need to know how to swim to snorkel. But turned out there was a big difference. I was lost in the water, panicked and had to count on my wife, who knows a little bit of swimming, and was pretty in control. Maybe the training part was a bit lacking (budget trip lah you know) but clearly my wife did much better even though it was also her first time to snorkel.That was almost 6 years ago, and I told myself back then that I would learn swimming before our next snorkeling trip (wow, I just realized it has been that long, and we hadn’t gone for that second trip yet), but never got myself to learn to swim until now.

Around 5 years and two kids after that trip, we moved to a condo unit, and yes with a swimming pool. Now it is staring at me in the face (horror music in the background), and I can’t tell you how much I felt disadvantaged by not being able to swim. Loved to bring my two sons to the pool, my wife would also be able to swim a couple of short laps by herself as I continued to wade in the pool, playing with my two boys. Sad isn’t it?

The boys looking cute

So why haven’t I gotten a swimming instructor or attend swimming lessons? Time is a factor, and sure money is an issue, either directly or indirectly not enough resources to meet the many demands. So, as in many other things that I do, when I come across a problem and not sure how to solve it, I go online. Sure, started with looking for the cheapest swimming instructor, what kind of schedule is available and all that, but then I started thinking, is it possible to learn by myself? Probably yes in theory, but are there guides available to really do it, despite the fear? So instead of just searching learn to swim, I searched for articles about learning swimming by yourself. And the net again, did not disappoint. Okay, that’s it for now, to be continued.