A friend recently told me that the worst thing one can do is work more than one job while planning a wedding. It is a slow road to exhaustion. As you might know, learning a new skill is a full-time job, probably more demanding because one has no experience. But your girl decided that the best time to have a refresher course in swimming was precisely a few weeks before her wedding day. 

Motivation? Apart from the obvious (wedding pictures); taking up a new challenge, I am also determined to trim the recently unwanted weight gained, especially around my tummy, of all places! I knew it had become worse when two people who hadn’t seen me in a while asked if I was expecting (lol much). 

If you have been around me enough, you’d know that running is not my strength. Since I have existed, I have only tried two mini marathons; one, an MTN marathon in 2015, and a recent night run that I did with my now fiancé, to mostly enjoy the night lights. I later caught the running fever, and it was fun and games at first, but by the end of the night, I decided that moving forward, I shall stick to walking.

Studies show that swimming is the one sport that provides an all-over body workout, as nearly all of the muscles are used during swimming, so I recently decided to re-embark on that journey. My target was to swim across the pool in five days, and one of the cons of being a daring go-getter is that you constantly urge yourself to pick up a challenge and push yourself to execute it. So despite going through some of my busiest times as I put together the final touches of my upcoming wedding, I was determined to make this swimming work. 

Today marks day five, and all I can say is that I have managed not to sink. While I swam across the pool on several occasions, I reminded myself that I learned to play the saxophone at an older age, and the results have been good. "So we can do this well!”- I pushed myself.  

I have taught myself (forgive my moment of vanity) that there is no right age or time frame to launch and pursue a dream. If you heard the self-motivation that has come from within this week, you’d be proud of me too.

There were days when I reached the pool, and it had kids diving and playing from the semi-deep end. I told myself I wouldn’t even be jealous, haha. I swallowed my pride; it tasted very unpleasant, wore my arm floaters, and joined the party. It helps a lot when one has a petite body because apparently, I often come off as a teenager. 

I know that my editor, Josh, will burn with jealousy once he reads my previous sentence, since we are age mates, but sometimes in life we have to accept the bitter truth. I also hope that he can continue editing my work even after this shade (lol).

As I like to put it, I have managed not to sink so far. While at the pool, I have made so many friends, including a pair of visiting ladies from Nairobi who liked my vibe at first sight and kept cheering me on, a group of noisy pre-teens, who I’m sure were concerned about my lack of skill, and a pretty four-year-old who was drawn to me, probably because we were both wearing floaters. We, later on, shared a soda and a snack, and she (the four-year-old) told me about all of her secrets. I love being friends with kids because they have some of the most astonishing stories.

Anyway, even though my limbs hurt like I was involved in a bar fight, I am still very proud of myself for the progress made in less than a week. This does not mean that I am not gasping for air while doing my laps, but I applaud my confidence and determination to take on new challenges. 

I am also very proud of myself because I dropped the arm floaters exactly two days after the first lesson, not by strength or might, but by endless self-assurance, and a few mouthfuls of germs! The next time you walk by a pool with someone (especially an adult) who is trying not to sink, I urge you to send them a smile and two thumbs up to acknowledge their brevity because it is a matter of life and death in there.

As we close the old year and start afresh, I hope you can be brave enough to pick up that dream you had previously put on hold. You will be surprised at how much value it will add to you!

I wish you and your loved ones a very merry Christmas and a better 2022! I hope the New Year provides the environment to hope for the future, and launch more dreams!

The writer is Rwanda’s first female saxophonist. 

stellatush@gmail.com