Cameron Yong/HIGHLANDER
Cameron Yong/HIGHLANDER

The most common form of transportation for students, swimming, has easily lost its thrill factor. Despite the idea sounding like a great alternative for cardio (as if we really need to work out anymore), swimming has quickly earned a bad reputation due to the increase of leg cramps, extreme fatigue, upset stomachs and multiple muscle strains. Although the Infirmarine is located on campus, it still requires a bit of a swim to reach the building and honestly with a cramped-up leg that isn’t going to happen.

So on top of managing our grades and the food that we have to cook or buy, you’re telling me we have to worry about our swimming? Exactly. Swimming might be a natural stress reliever for some, but it can also give an extra dose of anxiety for others. I don’t blame you; after all, swimming is tedious and extremely time-consuming. By the time you swim to the gym, you might as well call it a day and swim back home to be more productive elsewhere.

Don’t Jetski-p Swimming

Riding a jetski in addition to other motor vehicles can help lower the stress levels among college students and provide a bit of entertainment before attending class and being inactive during long lectures. This way, students are able to enjoy a bit of their own free time before coming back to class.

If you would rather not invest in some sort of marine transportation like motor boats or canoes, The Whale(ness) Center offers orca, dolphin and baby whale rides as a collaboration of Therapy Blubbers and ATAPS (Aquatic Transportation and Parking Services) to provide a form of transportation therapy. Just don’t forget to feed them once in a while and don’t leave the mammals unattended!

Other H2obbies

Similarly, this program helps relieve the everyday stress that school brings by allowing students to interact with marine animals and possibly even take on a job in the corresponding field. At the Recreocean Center located on campus, students are able to de-stress through classes of water yoga and aerobics, and occasional cooking classes.

It’s important to find a hobby preferably more relaxing than swimming, and to use that as a de-stressing tool as well. It’s sadly amazing how swimming is able to drain such a significant amount of energy from you after a long day of school, but hey, at least you can come back home (after swimming there) and rot on the couch by yourself (actual dreams from actual college students not including myself).

Tide-and-True Advice

As protocol, to reduce the instances of swimming-related accidents and discomforts, it’s always important to remember to stretch before and after getting in the water and to not eat right before swimming. It might be tempting to dive right in when you’re short on time, but trust me, you’ll regret it later when you feel nauseated and uncomfortable — and you definitely don’t want that before finals or another equally important exam.

School is stressful enough as is and although parking is not as big of an issue now and swimming has its benefits, once in a while we should all take a well-deserved break from the chaos that school brings. Instead of having to constantly worry about whether or not you have waited the proper hour after eating to swim, consider the other means of transportation available near if not on campus.

Since swimming is a necessity at our school, it is important to always remember the precautions of swimming and if necessary, rent a vehicle or an animal. So just take a deep breath and pet a dolphin, because we got this.