Swimming is a sport I have always been passionate about since my childhood. However, the covid 19 pandemic, which restricted all kinds of travel owing to the government’s indefinite lockdowns to stop the virus’s spread, forced me to discontinue swimming. I’ve been a part of the swim teams at all of the schools I’ve studied at. I joined OSC last year, and because the school did not resume ASAa due to covid, I was unable to participate in this sport while in DP1. However, when the school decided to reinstate all ASAs this year, I jumped at the chance and signed up for swimming. It seemed strange getting back into the pool after such a long period. Doing the strokes I used to do on a regular basis and wading through the water after almost three years made me feel like a newborn child. I, for one, was surprised to realize that I had not forgotten the techniques of the strokes that I once practiced every morning. The first day of swimming in the OSC pool was an unforgettable experience My mind was filled with nostalgia while I swam in the pool. Every stroke I made, every breath I took, and every kick I made reminded me of all the countless hours I spent mastering the techniques of this sport. It reminded me of the time when me and my brothers would wake up early in the morning to go to swimming practice at 4 :30 am. It reminded me of the people I met and the memories I had while participating in this sport. And when I got home, I felt fantastic. It was a sensation I had not felt in a long time.

When I was younger, I competed in a number of swimming meets.  I was once the national runner-up in the 50m breaststroke. My favorite sport has always been breaststroke; this stroke made me feel like a seahorse wading and pulling the water. When I had the option of doing any stroke during practice, I chose breaststroke; when we had to do turns, I chose breaststroke; and when we had to perform starts, I chose breaststroke. Then there came the butterfly; this stroke has never been one of my favorites. Maybe it was because It made me feel like a chicken who had always desired to fly like an eagle: each effort I made, every stroke I took, and every dolphin kick I performed never seemed to help me advance through the water. Perhaps it was because it required too much effort, or perhaps it was because it was simply not my cup of tea. But, whichever stroke I did, practicing swimming at the school pool twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays has helped me to gradually change the way I feel and do my work. It has been almost two months since I resumed swimming and I’ve noticed a significant improvement in the way I feel. I believe I can now focus for much longer periods of time on a single task, that I can better endure and handle stress, I am much more energetic and active, and, most important, I am able to sleep much more comfortably at night. By October I was able to regain my endurance and stamina and became a part of the OSC swim team that represented Sri Lanka at SAISA (The South Asian Inter-Scholastic Association) which was held in Amman, Jordan.