Surfacing from Stress Noelle Simon

Diving in a pool is an experience like no other. It’s like immersing yourself in a world with no sound and no communication. Underwater you can do things that would be so much more difficult to do on land, for example: a backflip or a handstand. It’s a beautiful thing, but like most other beautiful things it has its downfalls, as well; it can be dangerous, and overwhelming. The water can swallow you up and the farther and farther you’re pushed down, the more pressure is put on you. You know that pressure that squeezes your nose and makes your head feel like it's going to explode? That pressure continues the deeper in you get, until finally it is too much to handle.

This is how I felt my sophomore year of high school. I felt like I had plunged too far down into the immense pool of life, and I couldn't find my way back up. The pressure, or stress, was boundless and never-ending. I had always been that girl who would take on too much at one time. For some reason, I always believed I would be able to get everything done. It got to the point where I would have to wake up at 5 o’clock in the morning just to finish my school work.

During my sophomore year, I didn’t understand that I needed to take some time to de-stress myself. I use...