A Home Where There is Water

Wherever I have lived, there has always been water. As a military kid, I have moved twice, and so I have had two houses that I would call “home”. Both of them have had water outside where I can swim, and that has made me feel like each place is home. Being surrounded by water is very important to me. On the day I was born, my parents brought me home to our lake and took my first picture on the dock. We all play sports and it is amazing to come home afterward to cool off in the water for a little bit. When I am swimming, I feel happy and there is always a smile on my face. When we were posted to Ottawa, I helped my parents with house-hunting even though I was really young. One of the things I wanted was to have a house where I could swim, especially if I had to move away from my friends on the lake. Then, it would still feel like home even though I was far away. Even my brother liked the new house with a pool: he jumped in on the first day and our dog followed him around in the water to keep him safe. These are some of my favourite memories. In Social Studies this year I learned that there are many children in the world who grow up without clean water, let alone water to swim in. This really impacted me and I think a lot about how important it is for everyone to have clean drinking water just to survive. I wish every kid could know the feeling of having a safe source of water. I wish every kid could know the feeling of home.