Deep Water

Drowning is a fear that many people have. People have experiences that may scare them for their entire lives. In the non-fictional story, Deep Water, by William Douglas, a boy almost drowns. After he almost drowns, he becomes fearful of swimming. Eventually, the boy overcomes his fear by taking swimming lessons. I can relate to what this boy was feeling when he almost drowned because I witnessed someone almost drown a few years ago. Being frightened of water is a phobia shared by many people.

After this boys bad experience he was afraid to go near water. He knew he wanted to overcome his fear of water so he took swimming lessons. If I couldn’t swim, I would make sure to swim with someone who knew how. Swimming with a partner is very important so that if something were to happen, you would have someone there to help you.

When I read this story I felt I could really relate to it. I remember a time when I was at a pool party and one little boy nearly drowned. This kindergartener wanted to go swimming, but his mom said no because everyone was getting out of the pool to have lunch. He didn’t listen and went any way even though no one else was in the pool. He tried to jump onto a raft that was in the deep end of the pool but he missed and went under. This young boy had taken swimming lessons before but he was so scared that his body wouldn’t move. Thankfully, an older boy was just returning from practice and jumped into the pool only to discover the little boy on the bottom of the pool. He grabbed him and carried him out of the pool to his screaming mother. It was so scary because he was blue and his eyes were rolled back. CPR was done on him right away and he began to cough up water. The little boy was lucky that afternoon that he did not drown. If he would have swam with someone and listened to his mom then he could have prevented this terrible experience. Having been there that day did make me and my family more aware of the dangers of deep water.

In conclusion, being frightened by something is normal. Most people are fearful of something whether it be water or something else. The short story, Deep Water was a true story about a boy that was afraid of water, a fear shared by many all over the world.