I Can Do This!

I’ve never really held back from jumping in at the deep end, with both feet, not worrying whether in fact I can swim or not. I created my own self-belief long ago. Something I think I learnt from a very early age; maybe 3-4 years old? Preschool, one bright sunny afternoon, poolside, I took a huge flying leap towards some random guy in the pool my sister was dating who, arms open ready to catch me, turned at the very second I flew over his shoulders, whereupon I landed in the water with a rather loud splash. Far from drowning, I found myself laughing happily as I doggy paddled toward the side of the pool as if I’d been doing this forever. Only to climb out and scream at the man to catch me. And that’s how I learnt to swim. Not a moments thought or hesitation, I didn’t know any better. No one had chided me, or warned me not jump in the pool if I couldn’t swim. I just assumed as everyone else could swim, I could swim. And be damned if I didn’t do just that. Perfecting my jump, and swim…