Ever since I got a membership at the YMCA, my whole life changed for the better. It affected me both physically and mentally. After a few months, I joined the swim team and a lot more benefits came my way. I became more physically fit, becoming somewhat stronger than a majority of my peers. It also helped me by up-lifting my self-esteem. Swim practice was hard. It was very strenuous on the body and was hard both physically and mentally. Swimming to the end of practice worked on your will to keep going (mentally) and helped your physical strength.  As I kept attending the swim team I had to go to swim meets to know how fast and where I was in a particular stroke/event. As I grew to an age of 9-10 years of age, I had a winning streak for a while. This helped me believe in myself more and that helped me with various other things such as school, other sports, and even making new friends. The people at the YMCA are also very kind, sincere, and very helpful whether it's from the Wellness Center to the swim pool. The coaches I had answered my each and every question and corrected all of my errors I made. They paid close attention to all of us like they were our parents. Little did I know that the skills of swimming would help me save a life.

One summer day at a country club, my mother and I went for a swim. At the time she was still learning how to swim and usually swam in the teaching pool. That day she wanted to try out the shallow end of the lap pool so I accompanied her. Without knowing it, she had ventured off to the deep end and started to sink. She only had enough time to shout half of the word "help" before her head went under. I saw the lifeguards were too far to help her so I acted. I pushed off the wall and swam for her life. When I reached her I pushed her up, above the water and towards the shallow end. Soon I felt my energy fleeting and it was hard for her to stay up. She went under while I took a quick gasp of air and then I resumed pushing her towards the shallow end. These series of events continued on for about four times until we could stand on the shallow end.

 From that day on, I realized what skills everyone at the YMCA has given me. It allowed me to save a life. I learned that I could believe in myself and reach my goals. I learned skills that are very vital and will help me a lot in life.  For this I thank everyone at the YMCA who helped me in swimming, I truly cherish them, I truly cherish the YMCA.

Here is a poem of when I was 11 with 3 other teammates of mine at a Harvard New England swim meet:

200 Yard relay at the New England's Annual Swim Meet

Heart pacing,
Our event is about to
Start.
The person in front of me
Gets onto the board and
Dives into
The water when the
Buzzer drones.
And he starts racing,
Looking like a sideways
Waterspout of arms and legs.
Time getting short,
I hop onto the board and then
He crashes onto the wall
Splashing us all wet.
I shoot into the mass
Of blue bubbles.
I heed the
Roaring of the
Incomprehensible shouting
All around me
And feel the
Solitude of the water as my
Legs and arms are racing.
Other contestants are
By my side.
At the other side
Of the pool.
I go under and hit
The wall.
Feeling the impact
In my stubborn legs,
I push off.
Underwater, I
Do a couple
Dolphin kicks.
 It's the
Last five yards.
I slam into the
Wall and
See my teammate
Dive and gain
A few yards.
After he touches the wall,
It's down to the
Last person.
He flies across
The pool leaving
A churning
Snake-like stream of
White bubbles behind
As a mark on the water
Of our victory.

Four Words That Stay With Me
By Paul Bimmler
As I look out from behind the blocks, I see Coach Dan standing on the side of the pool helping a teammate with her stroke. Looking at the end of my lane, I see where my teammates are talking to pass the time before my race. The official tells the swimmers to step up on the starting blocks; the whole pool is eerily quiet.
 
I step up on the blocks, right foot first, with my toes over the edge, the way Dan has instructed us constantly. The next step in my routine is to shake out my arms to tell them to get ready. My head is down to avoid any distractions, such as the six-foot-six behemoth next to me with biceps as big as my head. "Take your mark!" says the starter. Leaning down, I grab the blocks and pull back on them with my arms.
 
The buzzer goes off, and everyone leaps out over the water. As I break the surface I think, "Man, this water is freezing!" I remember back to when I first joined ANA, and Kathy Medaglio was my coach. After my first race, she called me over and told me where I could improve, which was very surprising to me. I had never had a coach who gave immediate and positive feedback before, and I know that she cared so much for all of her swimmers and encouraged us to always do our best.
 
A shiver ripples through my body, but it might just be nerves. Underwater I start to kick, and then I take a few strokes with my arms. This is the 50-yard freestyle, the shortest and fastest event in swimming, so there is almost no time for breathing.
 
In less than 10 seconds I approach the wall. With one stroke to go, I pull my arm across my body and flip as fast I can, as I have practiced for endless hours in the Andover and Lawrence YMCA pools. Coach Paul Bennett told me that I should pretend that the wall is hot, so that I should just barely touch it. Again I think back to another meet, at Bucknell University for YMCA Eastfields. After warm-ups, Coach Paul sat the team down, looked at all us calmly and stated, "We can win this meet."
 
I had won individual races and loved that, but a team win would be awesome. He wasn't talking about one age group winning the meet; he wanted our entire team to win. This was a really tough moment for him because he liked to joke with us, but we knew he was serious. Coach Paul was honest with us, and we could tell from the way he spoke, that we really could win this whole meet. The banners that hang from the ANA YMCA pool rafters are from that meet. Whenever I see those banners, I remember back to that weekend when our team was able to come together and win as one.
 
A few more kicks, a couple of pulls, and now I take the one and only breath of the swim. I want to check where I am in relation to the other swimmers in the race, but then I tell myself it does not matter. I just need to go faster. The last five yards I am gritting my teeth and reaching for the final wall. My last stroke is quick as I roll onto my side and put my head against my shoulder for the finish.
 
Hitting the wall with as much force as I can muster, I turn to the scoreboard for my finish and time, but I cannot see anything through my misty goggles. Taking off my cap and goggles, I see a new best time and that I finished in first place! Scanning the stands, I look for my parents. At the end of the pool, my teammates from the Senior and National Groups are yelling, "Bimmler you rock! You're the man!" while clapping and celebrating for me. After climbing out of the pool, I grab my towel and walk over to Coach Dan. He gives me a low five and asks me how I feel. "Pretty good," I reply. "Really?" he asks. "You didn't kick that well coming off your wall or on the start; your finish was marginal, and another thing...".As Dan critiques or "coaches" my race, I start thinking that this is why I love swimming: I can always improve.
 
As I leave ANA after nine years, I reflect on the four words that define the YMCA: Caring, Honesty, Respect, Responsibility. These words have shown themselves to me through the caring of coaches, my teammates and other parents. The team has always competed honestly, and the coaches have always been truthful in their assessment of my strengths and weaknesses. I have seen a tremendous amount of respect for other teams and between my teammates. We have always had a great time. Coaches have always stressed our responsibility for the younger swimmers, our responsibility for being at practice on time, even during the early hours of the day. These words have shown themselves to me daily in my nine years as a Hurricanes swimmer. Their influences have helped to shape who I am today, and I wouldn't have it any other way.