Deep Water

Imagine being pushed under the water when you don’t know how to swim. As you are going under, you’re running out of air and your body is starting to shake. Then you start to panic, and no one is there to save you. “Deep Water” by William Douglas tells readers about the very scary drowning experience of one young boy and how it has changed this boy forever.

Even though there are many causes of death, drowning is the second leading cause of death in children from ages one to fourteen. Drowning is when someone takes in so much water your lungs can’t transfer air to your blood. Sometimes people pass out due to these effects. Many children, who don’t know how to swim, drown. About three thousand, twenty four people in the US die every year due to drowning. Many kids take swim lessons because their parents want them to learn how to swim, so they don’t drown.

My parents feared child drowning so when I was younger I took swim lessons. I started when I was a baby, I started swimming lessons at that age, my mom had to go into the water with me. They started off with splashing, then floating on your back, and gradually moved on from there. Then my mom and dad wanted me to continue until third grade. Now, swimming is fun and I have no fear of water. Thanks to my parents for getting me in swim lessons when I was younger, because if I didn’t have swimming lessons, I might not be living today.

As I read “Deep Water”, another story came to my mind. “No Escape” which told a very similar tale. Both stories have people facing near death experiences. Ali Swaby from “No Escape” risked his own life to go back down into a flooded area to save his co-workers. That’s a very selfless thing of someone to do. Some people are so unbelievably kind; they put others before themselves all the time!

Many people have fears, some develop them when they’re kids and others get them at older ages. Sometimes fears increase and then develop into what is called a phobia. The young boy in “Deep Water” could have had a phobia of water, which is called aquaphobia. He might have had this phobia because he had a very serious fear of water, due to some near death experiences in water. Then, after he almost drowns, I’d assume that his fear of water would be even worse. People want to face their fears, but sometimes the outcome isn’t always the best.

When someone faces something so scary, there is always a chance that it will damage that person forever. “Deep Water” shows readers what a scary experience can do to someone. Make sure before you do something you are positive you’re okay with it, and you think about if what you’re doing could hurt the other person.