I feel like being in the vastness, emptiness, and quiet of the ocean right now. Nothing sounds more appealing. I wrote the following in my senior year of high school:
I should have been a swimmer. To feel the caress of the liquid glass of blue, to be immersed in a different world of crystal azure and aquatic refreshment--these are the things I long for now. Resigning a possible position on the swim team of a high school I once attended floods me with guilt now. To be a swimmer was, at one point, an escape from the auditory aspects of the outside world and an entrance into calm, serenity, and tranquility.
The state one adopts while preparing to swim, I feel, can bring him or her to these peaceful states. As I focused on my initial leap into the water, I easily tuned out the echoing chants of spectators, mainly composed of parents, in the humid, steamy natatorium. Expanding muscular cavities deep in my chest brought me to a focused peace while the tracing of the long, black Ts on the floor of the pool mesmerized me, once submerged. Afterwards, the feeling of accomplishment, which could have constituted simply reaching the opposite end of the pool, overpowered the sensations of burning in my eyes and tightness of my skin.
Swimming, although competitive, differs from other sports, for each competitor has the right to silence and protection of his or her territory. Splashing and panting are the means of communication used, and a swimmer may be left alone to do his or her work an individual, private lane.
The rush of water between my fingertips propelled me as I systematically turned my head to the outer world for a supply of air. Ankles bound by an invisible force controlled the acceleration I experienced. My goal while crawling through the water was the glory of the finish--the reach made by extending my fingertips to a concrete finish line. Achieving the goal was great, but the process of doing so was better. I relished in the state of my escape from an outside world of noise and interaction. I loved the freedom the water granted me. I felt as if I could sail through waters that brought me to a new world.
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