Madison Gregory
College Composition and Research
Narration Essay
September 15, 2015
An Almost Average Day Life-guarding
Sitting in a sweaty plastic seat, wearing obnoxious amounts of sunscreen, and repeating the phrase “No running!” more times than should be necessary; this is what is examined on the average day of lifeguarding. In order to guard, the person has to be able to put up with lots of noise and have a watchful eye to guarantee the safety of the pool patrons. Often it is hard for people to have to deal with people that they do not like, but sometimes friendships are made doing so. Either way, sometimes the most unexpected people have teach valuable life lessons.
I knew from the moment I woke up that that day was not going to go as planned. I woke up late and had less than 20 minutes to put on my lifeguard clothes and drive down the highway to work. I barely made it to work on time and had forgotten my whistle. The consequence of forgetting your whistle is having to use the extra ones left in the guard closet by previous lifeguards-- super gross. After attempting to clean a whistle and applying yet another layer sunscreen, I took my seat up in the stand. On the average day, there usually is not music playing, but this week there was and it was loud. Since I work at a church camp, I guard the same group of kids all week for up to eight hours a day depending on the group. Out of the 20-50 kids in the pool at a time, towards the end of the week it becomes obvious which kids follow the rules, and which do not.
The least obedient kid in the bunch was a middle school boy named Clay. No matter how many times a guard would tell him to stop running or to stop splashing adults, he just seemed to ignore us. I am pretty sure he dove into the three foot end more times than I can count. On day two, he even did belly flops until he threw up. He decided it would be funny to splash the guards or make inappropriate comments every time he either swam or walked past one of the stands. We were almost to the point of kicking him out for the rest of the week.
Eventually one of his cabin leaders asked to talk to him outside the edge of the pool. A little while later, Clay sat on the ground next to my stand and apologized for his behavior. He explained that he acted the way he did so people would notice him. He said he had trouble making friends because of the way he acted. Clay told me that when he was younger his dad abused him, and he had to move in with grandparents. We talked for a while, and I told him that even though he wanted to stand out, but he still had to follow to rules designed for his safety just like everyone else. He ended up instead of splashing me when he was around my stand, smiling by the end of the week.
Even though at the beginning of the week I thought this kid was one of the worst kids ever, by the end he did not seem so bad. I even thought he was nice. Looking back the person I did not think I would like, I see that giving someone a chance and trying to understand them is the best way to go.
College Composition and Research
Narration Essay
September 15, 2015
An Almost Average Day Life-guarding
Sitting in a sweaty plastic seat, wearing obnoxious amounts of sunscreen, and repeating the phrase “No running!” more times than should be necessary; this is what is examined on the average day of lifeguarding. In order to guard, the person has to be able to put up with lots of noise and have a watchful eye to guarantee the safety of the pool patrons. Often it is hard for people to have to deal with people that they do not like, but sometimes friendships are made doing so. Either way, sometimes the most unexpected people have teach valuable life lessons.
I knew from the moment I woke up that that day was not going to go as planned. I woke up late and had less than 20 minutes to put on my lifeguard clothes and drive down the highway to work. I barely made it to work on time and had forgotten my whistle. The consequence of forgetting your whistle is having to use the extra ones left in the guard closet by previous lifeguards-- super gross. After attempting to clean a whistle and applying yet another layer sunscreen, I took my seat up in the stand. On the average day, there usually is not music playing, but this week there was and it was loud. Since I work at a church camp, I guard the same group of kids all week for up to eight hours a day depending on the group. Out of the 20-50 kids in the pool at a time, towards the end of the week it becomes obvious which kids follow the rules, and which do not.
The least obedient kid in the bunch was a middle school boy named Clay. No matter how many times a guard would tell him to stop running or to stop splashing adults, he just seemed to ignore us. I am pretty sure he dove into the three foot end more times than I can count. On day two, he even did belly flops until he threw up. He decided it would be funny to splash the guards or make inappropriate comments every time he either swam or walked past one of the stands. We were almost to the point of kicking him out for the rest of the week.
Eventually one of his cabin leaders asked to talk to him outside the edge of the pool. A little while later, Clay sat on the ground next to my stand and apologized for his behavior. He explained that he acted the way he did so people would notice him. He said he had trouble making friends because of the way he acted. Clay told me that when he was younger his dad abused him, and he had to move in with grandparents. We talked for a while, and I told him that even though he wanted to stand out, but he still had to follow to rules designed for his safety just like everyone else. He ended up instead of splashing me when he was around my stand, smiling by the end of the week.
Even though at the beginning of the week I thought this kid was one of the worst kids ever, by the end he did not seem so bad. I even thought he was nice. Looking back the person I did not think I would like, I see that giving someone a chance and trying to understand them is the best way to go.