Topic: Something which has caused you pain, fear, or doubt.

In a person’s life, many incidents or events occur that left their mark on his/her life for a
very long time or permanently. Some of them are good that become a source of joy for
the person while others are a source of agony or discomfort. A memorable incident also
occurred in my life when I was about to drown in the river. It made me a victim of
hydrophobia.

The incident occur when I went on a school trip to the northern areas. There were many
beautiful sceneries. On the trip, we decided to go boating and it was my first experience.
It was a paddleboat and I along with my friend Ali went on it. At first, I thought it would
be fun but when I and Ali started to paddle, hardly we had paddled 20 meters our boat
flipped and capsized. It was a terrific moment as we both fell into the river. I didn’t know
swimming and I was drowning. I thought it was our last day. Both of us became
unconscious and the staff saw us luckily. When I became conscious I found myself at
the shore. One of the men from the management saved my life by giving me mouth to
mouth, thanks to Allah both of us were saved. The school staff decided to close this
matter. Despite being saved from death this incident kept killing me every day. I became
a victim of hydrophobia. One day, I was passing by a lake near my house and my
friends invited me to a boat. On hearing this, a wave of fear ran through my body and I
started to shiver as the same incident came to my mind. I came back home crying, that
incident had become a nightmare for me. Even when I saw a swimming pool I got
scared. I felt myself escaping death and getting another life. After the passage of time, I
met my friend Ali who was also the victim of the same incident. We told each other
about our mental condition. Ali improved a lot, he learned swimming, he told me that he
has turned his fear into his strength. After hearing my side of the story he told me that I
should not be frightened and I can't avoid water anymore. He told me that a life that is
full of fears is not worth living at all. These words hit my soul. I requested him to
accompany me to which he agreed. In a few days, I learned swimming and after a
month I got rid of the hydrophobia, thanks to my friend who motivated me to overcome
this fear. Now after 3 years I went to the same river with my family where the boat
flipped and I decided to go boating. My parents told me that I would get confused or
traumatized, I felt mentally stronger than ever. I boated for an hour with my brother and I
enjoyed the same moment that caused me pain for 6 months. My parents were also
happy for me as I got better than ever after that tragic incident.

In conclusion, It was a bumpy ride overcoming my phobia but it was worth it. I learned a
lesson that it’s better to fight your fears than to live with them. I heard that the most
difficult war a person could have is with himself. Now, after experiencing it I have
realized the importance of self-confidence. Thus, I am no longer a victim of aquaphobia
neither that incident scares me anymore.

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