I saved someone's life

I am a lifeguard.

And the other night, I had my first rescue.  It was a pretty quiet open swim.  A young man jumped off the diving board and started to bob in the water, flailing his arms.  I froze in time.  After his friends jumped in, I knew it was serious.  I jumped in...yelled at his friends: "Move!" And I carried him to the wall.  Talk about an adrenaline rush.  The thing is...this was totally unexpected.  I suspected my first rescue would be during a busy open swim with crowds of patrons everywhere.

I felt like a hero! Then I remembered that there lifeguards on beaches who practice CPR quite often and have to be super knowledgeable about currents and the ocean.  All I needed to do was jump in and bring him to the wall.  Nevertheless, I felt pretty great.

My second feeling was that of poopiness.  I realized I forgot to whistle.  And I didn't carry him to the wall the proper way.  Oh well.  I learned.


-Mallory