Snorkeling
I can’t do it. I can’t do it. The sound repeated in my head.The rockiness of the boat and my own worries made me feel like I was going to faint. I was in Bermuda with my family and cousins that were all older than me. My little brother didn’t want to come because he was too scared, so my mom needed to stay in the cruise ship with him. That made me the youngest in my whole family. I needed to show them that I can snorkel and do scary things. I was also scared because we were going to snorkel in Bermuda Triangle. There is a legend that people have gotten into deathly accidents in Bermuda Triangle. There has mostly been boat accidents. We were snorkeling right by the shipwreck. Hopefully nothing weird happens to this boat. “This is where we’ll be snorkeling,” the tour guide said loudly on the microphone.
“Are you ready?,” my dad asked. “I guess so,” I said with my voice shaky. I looked back at my sister, Monica, and my cousin, Katelyn, smiling. Monica gave me a thumbs up. As I looked back down at my lap I could see my sweaty hands. “Just relax,” my dad said. I knew he could tell I was scared.
My heart beat faster and faster like a drum as I got on my rubbery flippers and my big, stretchy goggles. This felt like the time I was about to go on stage for my talent show. I was doing the piano and I thought that I would mess up. I went on stage and I went through it. Plus I didn’t even mess up.
I took a couple more steps closer to the end of the boat. As I gripped my hand to the noodle I took another step closer. “Do you think these noodles will hold us up?,” I asked my dad.” I’m sure they’ll hold us up,” he said.
“Just sit down and slide in,” my dad told me. “Okay,” I said in an even shakier voice than before. As sat down on the end of the boat I remembered the time when was scared to perform at the talent show, but I went through it and I did it. As I looked in the water I could see my whole family having fun. I can do it. I can do it.
Holding my noodle out, I gently scooched in the water. It felt as cold an ice cube. “You did it,” my dad said happily. “Come look over here,” I heard Katelyn say. I swam over to her. I put my mouth my breathing tube in my mouth and placed my head in the water. The sight looked beautiful. I came right up. “It looks so cool,” I said. “I know,” Monica said. “You know you can look under for a while, instead of sticking your head up,” Katelyn said. “I forgot,” I said embarrassed. I looked under again. It seemed as if the whole world flipped upside down. The coral shimmered from the bright sun. The fish looked so graceful as they swam back and forth. I saw tiny jelly fish as small as golf balls. The sight was incredible. I didn’t want to take my eyes off of it. Then I felt a terrible taste in my mouth, and felt water clog up in my nose.
I stuck my head right out of the water. I spit out the salt water taste. “I think a wave came over tube. Try not to get to deep,” Monica said. “Okay,” I said. I tipped my head in the water again. The same thing happened. “Try emptying out your tube,” Matt said “Okay,” I said. I looked under. It still didn’t work. I tried many times, butt it still didn’t work. “Do you want to take a break,” Matt said. “Okay,” I said bummed.
When we were swimming back to the boat a bunch of waves were hitting my face. When we finally got back to the boat I felt so relieved. “Do you want a coke,” Matt asked. “Sure,” I said happily. When we got to the lower part of the boat we saw little part of the ground was glass. You can see a bunch of fish! It was very cool. “Can we get a coke?,” Matt asked the guy who was serving drinks. “Sure thing,” the guy said. The rockiness of the boat made me feel like I was going to throw up. As the guy gave me the coke I took a sip. I felt way better. Then I felt the rockiness again. I still didn’t have fun out there and didn’t show my family I could do things I thought in my head. “I think I want to go back out,” I told my brother. “Okay,” he said looking surprised.
As I ran up the stairs and got on my snorkeling gear I felt determined that I could prove to my family that I can snorkel. I will also be happy when I show Luke that I had a great time. “Can I take two noodles,”I asked to the guy who was giving out noodles. “Sure,” he said.
As I stood on the the boat I said, “I’m coming back in,” I told my dad. “Great,” he said. I sat on the edge of the boat and slipped in. It was like a whole repeat of when I was first trying to go in the water, but I felt more confident. I swam over to my sister avoiding the waves. “Look at the shipwreck,” Monica said. I peeked my head under and looked. The sight was magnificent. I saw broken glass sparkle beneath the sand. I saw fish swim around the wood like it was an obstacle course. I finally noticed that I didn’t swallow any water. I stuck my head out of the water. “I did it,” I shouted. “You did it,” Katelyn said.
Now I know that I will not get scared before I try something new. It can turn out to be super fun. I tried snorkeling in the beginning, but I kept on swallowing water. I snorkeled again and I had one of the best times of my life. I will definitely snorkel again!
