I would occupy my time on a tower by scanning from one side of the beach to the other, always watching my section of the water and making sure beach-goers and their children were enjoying the ocean safely. Due to the ever changing tides that brought shallow sandbars and deep sloughs, some out farther than others caught my eye.

A few more hours passed by, leaving the sun right above my head. As I am doing my routine scan, with the occasional turn around to see who would be entering the water, I notice a heavier-set man with a fishing pole make his way toward the water’s edge. Alongside him is his friend, also a heavier-set man with a fishing pole. Immediately, thoughts begin to run through my head, taking my first impressions and turning them in to assumptions. “These two men do not look very prepared to fish. What if I have to pull them in by myself? I might not be strong enough.”

Contrary to my thoughts, I allow the two men to take themselves and their fishing poles into the water and even out to the sandbar. As my mind begins to wander back into its normal state of scanning, I find myself paying close attention to each move these men make, wondering if I will have to start taking action. Not long after, I come to see that they are out past where they are safe. I quickly pull out my bright orange “people’s flag” and begin trying to whistle them into safety. WIth each movement I make, there are no movements on their part. The more I wait, the more skeptical I become, each passing second feels like minutes, as everything starts to become slow motion. Before I know it, one of the two fishermen is waving his arms rapidly in a panicked state, and the other one is lying face up in the water. My instincts quickly turn on, and I bolt into the water, jumping over waves and rapidly swimming out to this man to help him to safety. Once I approach him, I come to realize that he is conscious, but in shock.

The sound of crashing waves and sirens are now consuming my ears, my main priority is to get him to shore unharmed. With each stroke, the man becomes more and more aware of what is going on.

Once we returned and my thoughts came back to normal, it was hard to hide the pride I was feeling as I realized I had just saved someone’s life, this was done in the proper way. The fisherman was ecstatic with my efforts, and even wanted to take a picture with me so he could remember the day. In the midst of all the feelings of pride and relief, the man was especially thankful that I had saved his fishing pole, and went on about how incredible it was that I was able to do such a heroic act in such a short amount of time.

I gained a lot from that experience as I was finally able to take pride in something I did. I was able to take an alarming situation and react quickly without second-guessing myself once, which is something I tend to do quite often. I also gained lessons from the fisherman, who taught me the value of life itself, and how short it is. Normal days can turn into life-changing situations in the blink of an eye, but with the tug of a booey I can always make it to shore.