What could be more perfect then the sun beating down on your skin, the radio blaring, and the smell of chlorine. This year, I spent my summer saving lives at the Country Club Pool which could not have been a better first job.

This past winter my mom told me that I needed to find a job for the summer. This would be my first job. The only job that sounded interesting to me was lifeguarding. I was interested in lifeguarding because I use to be in swim team and I love being outside in the summer. To become a certified lifeguard, I took a three day class at the REC. The instructor taught us about back boarding, spinal injuries, rescue jumps, conscious and submerged victims, and CPR. A few weeks after I received my certificate, I went to the Country Club and applied. I did not have an interview, but I did have to fill out paper work. Later that month, I received an email saying that I would be an employee. I was so excited and couldn’t wait to start! At the end of May, the lifeguards had a meeting to go over what would be our daily routine when the pool opened in June. The more my boss talked, the more I could not wait to start. School finally ended and June rolled around along with cold, rainy weather. On my first day, I arrived at 10:50 a.m. and started setting up the tables and chairs. While I was cleaning the bathroom, the other lifeguard came in and told me that we would not open due to the weather, I was devastated. Three or four weeks went by before the pool finally opened. The first day I worked was with Melissa. I was surprised with how relaxed everyone was. Melissa almost flooded the pool because she did not turn off the water, which made my first day unforgettable.

After a couple days working, I realized that rarely anyone comes out. There were the typical families who showed up every so often, my boss’s family being one. One day, there were several families, including my boss’s, who came out to swim. My boss, Amber, has two daughters. She had one daughter who could swim well, while the other could barely swim. Of course the one who could not swim always went to the deep end. One day she pushed off the ladder and then tried to swim back. After doing this several times, she became tired and could not reach the ladder, so I had to jump in and grab her. It was a little shocking for me, but saving lives is my job. I did not have to jump in after anyone the rest of the summer.
My favorite thing about being a lifeguard was being able to swim. When no one would be at the pool, I would jump into the water and swim until it was closing time. I could not get over how perfect my job was, I literally got payed to swim and tan. The pool ended up closing early due to a supposed leak. This didn’t make me sad at the time because I had been working double shifts, but now I miss it. Today I wish I could be sitting out in the sun watching the kids. I truly believe that lifeguarding was the perfect first job.