Just Keep Swimming

Recently, I’ve really wanted to go swimming. I miss the freedom of gliding through water. The thought of floating in a pristine chlorine pool or salty ocean water makes me think of summer which automatically creates the effect that the song, "Gooey" by Glass Animals, does to me; it calms me down. I slow down and take a breath whenever "Gooey" plays from my playlist on Spotify. The chill tones and laid-back vibes of the song -- and the pool -- make me so happy.

I attribute my constant business, and that of both my mother and hometown, to our close proximity to New York City. The bustling environment isn’t restricted to the Manhattan bubble. So when summer comes -- a.k.a. no homework and fewer responsibilities -- my hectic and pre-scheduled life slows down. I lose track of time, and in an attempt to be punny while referencing swimming, just float by. Anyway, these feelings all contribute to the connotation I feel when I think of swimming.

What’s more, is that my school has a pool! With hours for free swim! This makes me hype, but I still haven’t found a pool buddy yet. In fact, there is a one credit P.E. course dedicated entirely to swimming, and if I weren’t so uncomfortable in a swimsuit, I would sign up for it in a heartbeat.

Let’s talk about just the pool real quick: I believe that goggles are an absolute necessity, searching underwater for tossed coins and sneaking up on people from below can keep me busy for a while. Forward and backward rolls in the blue water and bad attempts at floating on my back (my feet always sink) also ensue. But once a year, I vacation with my family in the Outer Banks, where I can spend five whole days floating in the Atlantic Ocean. No stray hairs or hard walls like in a pool, just soft sand (sometimes spikey rocks) between the toes, the waves rolling you with them, the sun shining down on you and (hopefully) a spot in the water away from everyone else, which makes up a little paradise.

At least for me, this is something that I low-key love. I’m sure everyone has their beach routines, and I couldn’t be happier with that of my family’s -- I ride my bike from our cottage, grab some beach chairs from the car one of my parents drove down and carry them down the path to the beach, and then set up for an entire day of sun and sand. I am free to nap, take a walk, throw a Frisbee, read, eat and swim. And guess what -- this week for my team’s early morning workout, we’ll be in the pool! No better way to start off this glorious weather right before my favorite season, summer.