Two years ago, I began a crazy new adventure: I joined the Durango High School dive team. I eagerly hopped into my one-piece swimsuit and threw my worries to the wind. Little did I know, my adventure would bring great amounts of triumph and even greater amounts of tribulation. This unique sport has taught me more than I ever imagined it could. I never knew that learning how to dive could also teach me how to live.
Lesson 1: There are always multiple ways to approach things. On my first day of practice, I learned what is called “an approach.” The approach consists of the steps taken on the board before the dive. Over the course of my diving experience, I have learned a multitude of them. I’ve learned the one-step, the three-step, the hop, the press and even the back approach. I learned that if a certain approach wasn’t working for me, there was always a new one to try.
It is the same in life. There are always new and different ways to go about accomplishing a certain task.
Lesson 2: Failure is progress. In diving, failure is inevitable. And, often, failure follows an unwelcome slap from the water. Still, I aim to make every belly-flop count. I use my failures as motivation to try again and as lessons not to repeat my mistakes.
The most important piece of failure is to accept it. Once you accept it, you can master it.
Lesson 3: Enjoy the ride. In my life, I have never experienced an adrenaline rush accompanied by a sense of satisfaction like I have during a successful dive. The more scared I am of a dive, the more satisfaction I feel when I overcome my fear. Through it all, the most important thing is to enjoy every adrenaline-pumping instance.
In my life, I have found that I cannot worry about everything that could go wrong. Instead, I embrace all of life’s moments – even the scary ones – because if you aren’t afraid, you aren’t living.
Lesson 4: Sometimes all you can do is hold on tight. I have been in many instances, mostly mid-dive, when something has gone horribly, horribly wrong. A couple of months ago, I was learning how to do a forward double somersault. About halfway through the dive, my right hand slipped off my right leg. My body began to unravel high above the water. At this point, there were only two options: face the harsh smack of defeat or try to grab my legs once again. There was no way I could complete the last flip, but I held on anyway. Instead of the tragic belly-flop I had anticipated, I entered the water at a slight angle breaking my fall.
It is a fact of life that there will always be rough patches. When it seems like there’s nothing left to hold onto, just curl into a ball and trust yourself. And no matter how bad the smack, the sting will always fade away.
Elise Tidwell is co-editor-in-chief of El Diablo, the Durango High School student newspaper. She is the daughter of Ann and Chad Tidwell of Durango.
