"I am from Rivers State" I always reply knowing the next question that follows the normal interrogation when I meet new people and trying to explain where I am from.
"Oh Rivers state, can you swim?"
"No, I can't swim" I always reply, mentally rolling my eyes.
"But why? Don't you have so many rivers surrounding your hometown?"
"I wasn't born in my home town neither was I born inside of a river and most especially I am not a fish".
I always try to reply as politely as I can so I don't come off as being rude to whoever was asking because quite frankly I am so sick and tired of people asking me the same question over and again whenever I try to introduce myself, so most times I stick with the capital of my state that is Port Harcourt instead of saying Rivers State.
My picture
I appreciate all the good things of nature, it's amazing how you see a lot of things and wonder how they work effortlessly, just like the trees and grasses and how their colors are ever shinning and fresh even when they are unattended to or the moon that is ever sparkling and radiating it's crystal light, never has it been recorded that the moon was washed or has to be washed because it was dirty or it ran out of light.
Of all the wonders of nature, water seems to scare me the most. Water is amazing quite alright but it can be frightening at times to me.
Going to my hometown means going there by boat, there's an alternative route to my hometown that is motorable but my family always sticks to opting for the boat trips, though going by road seems far and you can be on the road for hours while you get to your destination in 30 to 45mins time using a boat but even though I'd rather stick to the road.
Whenever I'm inside a boat only God knows how many times I literally hold my breath or how many times I pray to God to save my life and that of my family's and wish I could just fly or teleport to my destination, indeed if wishes were horses beggars would ride.
The beginning and landing part of the boat trip is always the scariest part as the boat seems to float on its own before the engine is turned on, so I observed years back. Another scary part is when another boat is close to the boat you are in, oh mine, my heart skips so fast you would think I was between the devil and the deep blue sea. The surprising part is how people are be able to stand or move around while the boat is in motion.
I have heard stories of boats capsizing over here and as a matter of fact, a distant relative of mine died as a result of this, the boat he boarded capsized and he was unable to swim to shore, he eventually drowned and it was so painful so forgive me if I'm so scared for my life.
I have tried to learn how to swim a couple of times but oh boy! it's not working, I tried to learn it, not for the fun of it but for security reasons. I mean even if I don't get to use the skills for myself eventually someone might need help and I might just be the only person to save whoever is about to drown.
I haven't been in my hometown for a long time for this same reason and nobody in my family seems to get it as they are all in love with the whole "Boat and water experience".
My ex-boyfriend from years back was bent on helping me overcome my fear, he even went as far as enrolling me for swimming classes and wanted to organize a boat cruise for us but it all failed and he had to give up eventually.
For the swimming aspect, a friend of mine told me that the first aspect of learning how to swim is by first learning how to love the water you are in Lol and I always say to myself when will that day ever come?
The good thing about me is that I appreciate people who know how to swim, my little cousin swims like a mermaid, I guess it's as a result of watching too many mermaid cartoons.
Water is life and I appreciate that a lot but I pray I get to love it sooner than later.
PS: some of the pictures in this post belongs to me and was taken with my mobile phone.
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XOXO