"Study for After Swimming" (1955) by Alex Colville
In this chapter, we learn more about something Nora did when she was a child.
Did you have any similar experiences that shaped your childhood?
What does this chapter reveal to Nora about the lives she regretted not living?
What does this chapter reveal to Nora about the lives she regretted not living?
I took ballet lessons at my local dance station for the majority of my childhood. I loved it, but I ended up quitting. I decided it was not a career that I wanted to pursue, and while I still love to dance, I moved my focus onto other things. This chapter reveals to Nora that the lives that she regretted not living aren't all that she thought they would be. And that she could pick different choices but not the outcomes. This allows her to move her focus to other possibilities.
ReplyDeleteGrowing up I took a lot of karate lessons. Those karate lessons shaped a lot of who I am. They taught me how to control my emotions, my body, and my mind. I’m a lot more tame now because of those lessons. Those lessons showed me a glimpse of how I wanted to become a teacher too. I taught younger kids karate at times and that was motivational at times. Chapter 19 shows us that the lives Nora chooses don’t always turn out perfectly or how she envisions them to turn out. The lives she chooses will fix the problem at hand, but a slew of other issues and faults are always bound to follow, so this realization shifts Nora’s perspective on how she should choose her lives. She has to narrow down on what she truly wants now. She has to focus.
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When I was a child, I wanted to be on Broadway. I wanted to be under the big lights, in front of a big crowd, and in a huge dancing and singing ensemble. Performing was my element, and the stage was my home, just as the water was for swimming-14-year-old-Nora. I loved singing, dancing, and of course, the drama. I wasn't half bad and knew that I could one day have a career in it, too. Like Nora, I embraced that life and wanted it one day as an adult. Though unfortunately, the life I thought I would live wasn't actually what it would be like at all. Work would become a daily cut-throat competition with other adults and in order to be successful, you had to be the best. The love and passion for the art form was gone, and it became a chore instead. Similar to my misconception, when Nora was wishing to see a life in Australia with Izzy this wasn't exactly what she had envisioned. With Izzy's death, Nora realizes that she should be more careful about what she wishes for, and understands that what we often envision as young people aren't actually what they seem in reality. Even though she might've been better off not knowing about Izzy, she has to decide to move on. -Lizzie Jones
ReplyDeleteIn this chapter you learn that Nora used to have a huge passion for swimming. Having a passion that big when you're young seems like it can be your whole world for the rest of your life. You envision living through these dreams and thinking of all the possibilities from this one thing. When it doesn't work out how you envision it, it can often diminish how you view your life and purpose. The lives Nora regrets not living show that just how unexpected life is for every person. We experience things that we once thought would never happen to us. We see things we never thought we'd see, and when it happens, it alters our perspective and who we are as people. I experienced this as a child when I used to think I would be traveling the world by 14 years old. I envisioned myself with all the money in the world not having to work for it and yet being able to see and experience anything I wanted. When the day came I had to get my first job it showed me that I have a responsibility in my life to make what I want to make happen. I can't just say I want to travel the world and think money will flow out of my pockets. I realized this responsibility and it pushed me to strive and work for what I have. To make my life worth it through what I have the opportunity to do now and what I can look forward to.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was younger, I used to take Taekwondo. I wanted to learn karate after watching the Karate Kid, and so my dad signed me and my brother up for classes. It was nothing like I expected of course. We practiced basic kicks and forms and sparred occasionally. My brother got tired of it during his second year and quit, but I wanted to see it through. I made it all the way up to a red belt, which was only one away from black. But I decided to quit at that point, even though I was so close to getting what I had wanted. This was probably my 4th year of karate classes, and I no longer wanted to continue. I wasn't good at it or anything like Nora was at swimming, but I enjoyed it for the most part. The reason I quit is because It would have been more work than I wanted to put in to actually get the black belt. But I look back on that now and wonder how cool it would have been to get that black belt. I don't exactly regret quitting, but it would have been a major accomplishment to have completed that childhood dream of mine.
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