I like to think that as we drift away from the celebration of the new year, we go towards a brighter (and warmer) celebration of summer. With all of the resolutions we made just months earlier pushed down the drain, people of all ages celebrate the joy of the warm sun as they jump into the clear waters all across the country. 

Pools, with their clear appearance and cool feeling, are close in the hearts of summer-goers because of the comfort they provide on a hot, sunny day. As an avid swimmer myself, I’ve always known the pools as my summer get-aways when I’m feeling down. However, because I turned 15 this year, a newfound opportunity has turned up, seemingly determined to make me more stressed than I already am.

The age of 15 in our country is typically the year in which teenagers can start working with the prerequisite of a worker’s permit. Though these jobs are typically low-level and offer minimum wage, they are a perfect place for many to start. Most teenagers go after a job they are already acquainted with or something that an older sibling or family friend had when they started out. 

For me, It’s a combination of the two. Other than most swimmers having a gymnastic background, another thing we uncannily all end up doing is applying for a lifeguard position as our first job. I’ve grown up with this idea in my head for the majority of my life, while also watching many others experience their first lifeguarding position. So naturally, when registration was sent out (early, courtesy of being on the swim team), I applied within a week. 

I wish that just applying would get rid of all of my worries, but sadly that’s not how the world works. The fear of applying for a new job is a resentment shared by anyone who has ever gotten a job in their life, and now it’s safe to say that I understand that feeling almost completely. Thoughts like “What if I don’t get the job” or “What if someone more qualified than me beats me to the position” often come to mind. This should be a crucial point of my teenage years because of the newfound responsibility, not just because of the stress I feel while awaiting the employer’s response. If you ask anyone, they’ll always say: “Don’t worry about it!” as if that makes the fear go away. I, along with probably everyone else in the world, would love for it to be that way. However, that’s not exactly realistic. 

Not only do I have to worry about whether or not I will get the job, I also have to worry about getting certified before I consider anything. To be an official lifeguard, a person would have to make sure they get ARC (American Red Cross) certified before they assume action. In my case, getting certified is a three-day-long course of training with a test at the end. Some of the most notable parts include a 300-yard swim without stopping and retrieving a 10-15 lb weight from the bottom of the pool. Sure, I can swim both with and without weights well enough, but learning new stuff that I might need to actually apply during my job is what scares me the most. “Stuff” being the knowledge that would actually make me a lifeguard, and not just a swimmer. 

While I’m sure I would get the hang of it eventually, I am still relatively hesitant about the beginning stages where I feel as though I am often expected just to know everything right off the get-go. 

This is actually what brings me back to the main prompt of this piece: New Year’s Resolutions. I don’t often make new year’s resolutions because I know that they will most likely be cast down the drain months later. However, with such a big step about to be taken in my life, I can’t help but make a “small” goal for myself aside from just wishful thinking of getting the job.

I want to be able to do well and learn quickly during this big step of my life. Not only that, but I want to do it free from what I think I should know already, and take my time learning so that I remember details in better quality. In shorter, summed up terms, I feel that a quote said by Jim Caviezel sums up what I’m trying to say perfectly: “I do what I do, and I do it well, and focus and take it one step at a time.” And that’s exactly what I plan on doing.