You are looking down into a body of water. The sound of waterfalls fill your ears. The waves crash against the rocks and the mist of the water touches your skin and creates a chill down your spine. Fresh air fills your lungs as you breathe in the smell of the water. You stand at a cliff, ready to jump into the water. Adrenaline is itching through your body and causing the hairs on your arms to stick up. So, you let yourself fall into the water.

As you fall, you feel like you are flying. You feel as light as a feather or like a bird soring through the sky. The clear air becomes cold as you get closer and closer to the water. Then finally with a splash you burst into the water.

You are under the water and looking up at the surface. The sun is shining through the baby blue water, inching its way to you. The sun doesn’t reach you because you start to let yourself sink further and further into the abyss of the water. It almost seems peaceful because it is so easy to just let yourself sink. The water starts to go into your lungs and a stinging sensation takes over your body. You can no longer breathe and if you tried water would just fill your lungs more. It is an agonizing pain… drowning. You have two choices: Let the water win and let yourself sink or fight and swim to the surface.

As you sink your lungs are running out of fight and your heart is giving up. For a moment, you think of giving up and letting go. But you know that life is worth fighting for, so with the little might you have left you push every muscle. You lift yourself up and you swim towards the top. The water is going from black, navy and to light blue the closer you get. You are so close to the surface that you can see the sun reaching for you, asking for your hand. With one gasp of breath, you burst out of the water and desperately fill your lungs back up with air and cough the water out. With your weak muscles, you force yourself to swim ashore.

You let your body go limp on the shore and look up at the clear blue sky. Your breathing is catching up and your lungs are inhaling and exhaling air, getting your body back up to speed. Then suddenly a feeling of relief washes over you and you smile a genuine smile. A smile that you actually mean.

This is a metaphor of life. Jumping off the cliff is jumping into life and the obstacles that come with it. The water is your troubles and all the things that hurt you. Drowning is something you feel when your emotions take over you and you reach a breaking point. It is the moment you think of giving up on trying to make things better for yourself. Swimming up to shore is that choice that you aren’t going to give up because you refuse to let your sorrows win, just like you refused to let the water fill your lungs completely. It is okay to say you are drowning because everyone has those troubles and experience this metaphor. Some more than others but nonetheless, it is nothing to be ashamed of. It isn’t about falling; it is about picking yourself back up. It is worth it, swimming ashore and choosing that you aren’t giving up. It is always important to never give up. The key to life is remembering the good out-weighs the bad, even when it doesn’t feel like it. The key to life is simply…never giving up.