Learning to swim as an adult is terrifying, embarrassing and wonderful | Alexandra Hansen
Swimming has become addictive – the euphoria of being in the water, of overcoming a fear I never expected to overcome
I don’t know if I’ve always been afraid of water, but I don’t remember a time when I wasn’t. I remember as a child sitting next to the bath to watch it fill lest it flood the house if we stepped away while the tap was still running. I’d had no bad experiences (that I could remember); my fear seemed innate.
Like most Australians, I had swimming lessons in primary school. One of the first tasks was to submerge your face and head in the water, and I flat-out refused. The instructor told me that if I didn’t I would have to stay in the first lane with the little kids doing water play. I said that was fine, and she left me alone after that. So I never learned to swim.
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