Lifeguard Thoughts

Being a lifeguard is an extreme responsibility and there are not many other jobs out there that come with such great loads of accountability. Lifeguards are there to save lives, well in my case to do everything I can to prevent an episode in which I have to save a life. I became a lifeguard in the summer of 2010, the day I turned 15 (the minimum age to pass the test). Ever since then I have partaken in watching over hundreds of swimmers every week.

When I passed my lifeguarding test, consisting of written exams and scenarios, I felt very accomplished. It takes a large amount of specific training in order to become certified. It takes a minimum of three, twelve hour days of learning and incorporating our skills in the pool. There aren't many positions that a 15-year-old can become certified to do and I achieved one of the few.

On a less serious note there are many things about lifeguarding that the common everyday person (one that is not a lifeguard) wouldn't know anything about. There are other things that are probably quite obvious. One of them being the boredom factor. Yes! Us lifeguards are some of the most bored people around! You can only walk around the pool, check chemicals, count heads, and put away kickboards so many times.

Yes! We probably space off much more than we should. Like I said before being a lifeguard takes a lot of responsibility and we take it very seriously. At times it is nearly impossible to stop the oncoming yawn. You should try sitting in a chair, in a very hot room, doing nothing but watching a few people play in the water, it makes you very sleepy!

I never would have thought I could think up so many stories or analyze something in my mind so much until I became a lifeguard. With endless shifts of just sitting and watching you can basically think up anything you can possibly imagine. Don't even ask about what goes through my mind, its the most random of things.

Here are few other things you may not know about the person carrying a silly looking tube and wearing red:

--Yes! We are probably checking the clock every 5 minutes counting down the minutes until our shift is over.
--Yes! We are probably trying to listen to your conversations, it gives us something to do! (Im pretty much kidding with this one).
--Yes! We probably want you to leave. As soon as everyone leaves we can sit in the comfy chair in the air conditioned office!
--Yes! We probably would love it if you struck up a conversation with us if it looks like we are crazy bored.

That pretty much wraps up my lifeguard thoughts!