Lifeguard Cert Class

Usually everything interesting in my life is art-related, but not the Lifeguard Certification course I've just joined. The instructor asked us all to write down why we wanted to be a lifeguard, so I wrote about the drownings in Louisiana that made me decide I had a responsibility to be able to save swimmers. A large family was picnicking on a riverbank. None of the children or adults could swim, so when one teen fell off an underwater drop-off, several more followed to try to save him, and drowned too. I looked into it, and learned that it is unsafe to save a drowning person because in their desperation they will drown you if they are able, and that is when I knew I would have to be formally trained. The five allotted minutes passed faster than expected so I finished with, "I don't want to be helpless."

Almost all of the teens wrote that they want to be lifeguards because they love to swim and want to help people, and want a summer job. Oh. I honestly did not think of that. Swimming is my favorite exercise, but lifeguarding is sitting in a chair in the sun.

These teens have been in school all day, and now they are taking a 3 hour swimming + lecture class for 50 hours in two weeks. We get out at 9:30, and we got homework for tomorrow (but it's just reading). When will they do the homework? Teenagers are amazing! I was amazing in that indefatigable way as well. Get up at 7am to go to high school, bike to second high school for special class, bike back to first high school, then after school were committees to help the school, fitness club, or special-interest community college class. "peaking in high school" is for athletes, not students who spend all of their time reading and inventing weird little projects, but that was my peak to date for spending my waking hours progressing toward external, measurable goals.