Why I Want To Be A Lifeguard

Why I Want to Be a Lifeguard

There are many reasons that I might want to be a lifeguard: my paycheck would increase, I could get a job in practically any community, and I could spend my days outside in the sun. None of these, however, are the reason I want to be a lifeguard. The real reason I want to become a lifeguard is because it would allow me to better Ð'- as both a person and as a pool employee. I know being a lifeguard involves lots of responsibility, but that is part of what intrigues me about it, the fact that I could be the difference between whether someone dies or whether they live. The confidence I would gain simply from knowing I am able to save someone else's life would not only make me more confident in my summer job of teaching swimming lessons, but in carrying myself through life in general. To me, this lifeguard class is a test not only of my physical ability to swim, dive, and correctly strap someone to a board, but a test of my will power, my ability to stay calm and perform under pressure.

I also want to be a lifeguard because a lifeguard is someone important. Lifeguards are respected, trusted, and, most of all, an essential part of the community. It may sound selfish for me to say this, but one of my main goals in life is to matter. Of the jobs available to someone my age, that of lifeguard is by far one of the most important. I could work at McDonald's, or Wendy's, or some other disgusting, boredom-breeding place, but somehow I don't think I could ever get the same satisfaction out of saying, "I know how to flip burgers and make French fries," as I could from saying, "I can save your life."