here's an earful.

i applied to be a lifeguard at seven peaks water park because there are a couple girls in my ward who work there and have the time of their lives. you get paid to stand in the sun all day, who wouldn't want to work there? i got called back for an interview on wednesday and i thought it went really well, but that was only half of the interview. the other half was a swim test yesterday. beside the fact you had to wear a 1 piece and my purchase the night before could have looked like i shopped in my grandma's closet, it was easily the hardest thing i have ever done. easily.

i mean, i aint on the swim team, but i can swim. the first part of the test was easy. you just had to swim in a 13ft pool for 3 minutes, then the last minute you had to hold your arms above the water. not so bad.

i heard the brick was hard, but i never imagined it to be that hard {okay. it's not an actual house brick. it's just a weight in the shape of a brick so that's what they call it.} you have to swim accross the pool, grab the brick at the bottom and continue to swim backwards with your head and brick above the water. i didn't want to fail so i kept trying and trying to swim to the other end, attempting to hold the brick above the water, but everytime i kept going under and losing my breath. i honestly almost drowned. i finally just had to drop the brick and hold onto the lane divider to catch my breath. the lifeguard in charge of the drill dove into the pool to grab the brick, then came up to tell me i did a good job. honestly? i just failed. please don't tell me i did  a good job. he told me i can do it as many times as i wanted. to heck i was going to go back and try it again.

the third part was just saving a life guard. nbd.

then we had to swim 3-100's. {a 100 is there & back, there & back}. okay, here's the part where the "i aint on the swim team" comes in. i was so tired after the first 100 and i still had 2 more to go. swimming is seriously sooo tiring. you use your whole body to swim. not just your legs or arms. your whole body.

after the 2nd 100 with me being the only one left in the pool with a huge line of people waiting their turn, probably laughing at me struggling, i was [ this ] close to quitting. my intentions got the best of me and i just thought, maybe this isn't my place to be. my body was hurting too much and it was just too hard. but then i thought of how dissappointed my family would be because they all know how bad i want this. how dissappointed i would be. something inside me just told me to keep going. thankfully it was enough to help me finish.

that was the last of the test and i was ready to go home. i hopped in the car and just started bawling. i could barely feel my arms and legs. they said if you pass the swim test they'll call you by the 23rd to take the lifeguarding classes and be certified. i'll honestly be surprised if they call me back.

well i guess i can say i learned my lesson. i got home knowing that i didn't do the best, but i did my best, and that's all that matters.

-tay