Marisol Silva
Fear
A teenage girl tries to overcome her aquaphobia.
What better way to rid of your fears than to face them yourself? Or so I thought. It was a hot summer day here in Durango, and my sister had come up with the idea to go to the lake to cool off. Everyone was pretty excited. We all loaded up into our van and we drove to the lake, which was five minutes away from our house. Once we got there everyone got off and raced into the water, besides me.
I was the only one that was slowly walking towards it because I have a fear of getting in the water. I've seen shows and movies of people getting attacked and I didn’t want something like that to happen to me. So there I was, slowly walking towards the water, my feet barely touching its coldness and my feet sinking into the mushy sand.
My older sister was trying to convince me to get in with her and she kept on insisting, so I finally got in. We got on a paddleboard to get to a dock that was floating near the middle of the lake. It was my first time on a paddleboard, so we were shaking a lot and we almost tipped over.
We finally made it to the dock and it was a washed out brown color, there was a lot of spiders crawling on the edges of it, and it was really splintery. We got on and we were going to jump together on the count of three. I never actually jumped in because I kept on hesitating. But, I finally told her that I was serious about it, that I was actually going to jump in.
We counted to three and I jumped in and everything was in slow motion. I could see her still standing on the dock and I was there jumping in by myself. At that moment I felt really scared because I was by myself.
I hit the water. While I was underwater, I opened my eyes for a little bit and I could see the green color of the water. The chain that was hooked onto the dock was slowly fading into the pitch blackness of the bottom of the lake. I could see a few plants.
At that moment I was really freaked out and I wanted to get out of the water and just get back to the shore, so I started swimming my way up to the top. I felt like a cat that was in the water, trying to get out, feeling super uncomfortable. My eyes were really wide, I was shaking a lot. I got back onto the dock and my sister was there, just laughing at me, which made me feel a little mad.
Now that I look back, it was pretty funny. I was all drenched and I made her take me back to the shore. I didn't get back in again and it didn't help me get rid of my fear. Even though this was a bad experience for me, I still want to keep on trying to get rid of my fear.
I was the only one that was slowly walking towards it because I have a fear of getting in the water. I've seen shows and movies of people getting attacked and I didn’t want something like that to happen to me. So there I was, slowly walking towards the water, my feet barely touching its coldness and my feet sinking into the mushy sand.
My older sister was trying to convince me to get in with her and she kept on insisting, so I finally got in. We got on a paddleboard to get to a dock that was floating near the middle of the lake. It was my first time on a paddleboard, so we were shaking a lot and we almost tipped over.
We finally made it to the dock and it was a washed out brown color, there was a lot of spiders crawling on the edges of it, and it was really splintery. We got on and we were going to jump together on the count of three. I never actually jumped in because I kept on hesitating. But, I finally told her that I was serious about it, that I was actually going to jump in.
We counted to three and I jumped in and everything was in slow motion. I could see her still standing on the dock and I was there jumping in by myself. At that moment I felt really scared because I was by myself.
I hit the water. While I was underwater, I opened my eyes for a little bit and I could see the green color of the water. The chain that was hooked onto the dock was slowly fading into the pitch blackness of the bottom of the lake. I could see a few plants.
At that moment I was really freaked out and I wanted to get out of the water and just get back to the shore, so I started swimming my way up to the top. I felt like a cat that was in the water, trying to get out, feeling super uncomfortable. My eyes were really wide, I was shaking a lot. I got back onto the dock and my sister was there, just laughing at me, which made me feel a little mad.
Now that I look back, it was pretty funny. I was all drenched and I made her take me back to the shore. I didn't get back in again and it didn't help me get rid of my fear. Even though this was a bad experience for me, I still want to keep on trying to get rid of my fear.