One stroke at a time

Water is a powerful thing.

70% of our bodies are made up of water. Most of our planet is made up of water. There is water in nearly everything that is essential to our survival. So, to me, it is only natural that water, being in water, surrounded by it, has the power to heal and restore whatever it may be that is disrupting our souls.

Recently, I've been going through a series of changes in my life that I've had a hard time understanding and processing. Changing countries, knowing that I will be graduating in a few months, getting my heart broken... I've being trying to come to terms with how to accept the changes occurring all around me, even with the people that I love.

I'm not good at processing negative emotions, which, honestly, is the root of many of my life's issues. I'm trying to get better at it, to not let pain paralyse me the way it usually does, to know that even if you don't see things getting better, they will. Being in water helps me see that. Swimming gives me clarity. It's just you and water. It doesn't ask you anything, it doesn't demand anything from you - only for you to keep moving. You move your arms and legs and you keep going. You breathe. You float. You go under. You come up and you're still there. You don't have to think, but it allows you to. Because it takes away the pain. You allow the water to soothe you, your body focuses on not sinking and your mind is clear. You feel nothing but the water on your skin, you smell nothing but chlorine, you see nothing but lanes and the ripples your splashing feet create.

You can find peace, if you want to. I did. You realise that even if you don't have the answers you want to, even if everything seems different and you don't know how to adjust, you realise that to survive, you just have to keep breathing and you'll stay afloat.