How I Learned to Swim

When I was younger, I was afraid of water. I could not swim at all, and I always felt nervous near the swimming pool. Last summer, I finally decided to change that.

My older brother offered to teach me. Every Saturday morning, we walked to the community pool together. In the first lesson, my brother was holding my hands while I was trying to float on the water. It felt strange, but it was not as scary as I expected.

Each week, I got a little braver. My brother taught me how to kick my legs and move my arms correctly. Sometimes I swallowed some water and coughed a lot, but my brother always encouraged me to try again.

After about a month, I could swim a short distance by myself. I was much more confident than before. My brother said my kicks were stronger than his when he first started swimming.

By the end of the summer, I could swim across the whole pool without stopping. Learning to swim was harder than I thought, but it taught me that practice really does make a difference.

Grammar Focus

• Past Continuous — for an action happening at a specific past moment. Example: "My brother was holding my hands while I was trying to float on the water."
• Comparative adjectives — for comparing situations. Example: "I was much more confident than before."