Learning a New Skill at 31
Learning a snow skill at 31 feels challenging but definitely fulfilling, I learnt swimming, something an always wanted to learn. Learning swim came with a lot of fun and judgemental glances.
Rachna
5/29/20262 min read
We have been hearing this for ages now (pun intended) that learning has no age limit. While it sounds very encouraging and comforting, it comes with a lot of judgement and criticism. If someone tries to learn something which is not of age as expected by the society, it usually comes with a statement ‘Iss umar me kya past hai isko’ (why does she/he wants to do it at this age?).
I recently joined swimming class, a skill I always wanted to learn. But now that I am 30 above it made me a little concerned. However, my zeal to learn and love for swimming was way above all this. So I joined swimming classes with my best friend cum sister. When I started my classes, my fellow batch mates were slightly older than my daughter. Their parents accompanied them but low key they judged me that why is she in a 3ft pool area? Maybe she is a swimming coach? Or she is a parent accompanying her child. The expressions says it all. Initially it bothered me. I felt misfit for the place for the batch and even for the skill. But once I started learning to swim, all these judgements were as good as a zero before any digit.
I believed in myself and started learning. I was scared than most of the kids, I was taking more effort to float and struggled to grasp my breathe than most of the batch mates but the only thing that mattered was I was doing something that I always wanted to do. I used to watch people swim and relax and I always wondered if I could swim one day. I always wanted to experience swimming during heavy rains. And guess what? It HAPPENED. I was right there in the pool when it started raining heavily, black clouds, chilly wind and cold pool water. As I made my way underwater, I saw one of the most beautiful visuals of nature. I saw how mesmerising rain drops look from underwater. I swam straight 1 hour without wasting a single second. It felt like a therapy.
I could feel a wish getting fulfilled. It was amazing. I look forward to go swimming all my day as that is the only part of the day when I do something just for myself. Despite those judgemental glances, I know what I will experience in the pool will all be worth it. So 30 or not, no judgements can pull you down as long as your love for learning keeps you afloat!