Breaststroker for Life

I recently joined the master's swim team. I've been swimming a mile daily and am looking for some guidance. I swam throughout high school and for one year in college, and swimming helped me connect with my peers.

I remember in college, we would have secret Santas for Valentine's Day. I was so happy when someone gave me a stack of Hershey bars.

In high school, I was very good at the breaststroke. My coach said my breaststroke was like a secret weapon. When I swam the individual medley, I was so slow in the butterfly. When I swam the backstroke zigzag, people would ask why I was even on varsity. But I always caught up with the breaststroke and finished strong with the freestyle.

Animatic on the Life of Gertude Ederle

After 30 years out of the water, I am more than a little older. I dabbled in swimming in triathlons. I am not as fast as I used to be. But I still love the water more than pounding on the pavement.

A lifeguard at a public pool in Shatin, Hong Kong, taught me how to swim. He gave me excellent instruction in the breaststroke. At the pool, people started calling me the 'frog.'

My father used to take me to the meets. I would get extremely nervous at that time. Before a competition, I often forgot which stroke to swim. My dad would shout from the spectator area to remind me.

Since then, swimming has been a recurring theme in all my artwork.