Down in the back of a neighborhood in Virginia Beach lies the pool that holds my heart.

For as long as I can remember, I have spent every summer swimming and lifeguarding under the sun at a little slice of heaven called Club Brittany Pool.  

Club Brittany is a small neighborhood pool located at the very tip of a peninsula in a neighborhood that is about five minutes away from my home in Virginia Beach. The pool is surrounded by picturesque canals that flow into the Lynnhaven River and is usually filled to capacity by the coolest kids in all of Virginia Beach.  

I hold Club Brittany close to my heart as a place of swim meets, endless games of sharks and minnows, snack bar binges, risky diving board stupidity, first crushes, childhood bliss, lasting friendships, and some of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen. 

I can say with total confidence that Club Brittany is my favorite place in the world. When I’m stressed about exams and papers at school, I close my eyes and picture myself walking through the gates at opening time, approaching the empty, glistening pool under the wide open sky awaiting a day full of laughing families. When I’m bored in lectures, my mind wanders to my seat at the high guard stand where I watch daring kids flip off the high dive as the world lingers below me. If I’m discouraged, I turn to memories that hold magic moments, such as going off the high dive for the first time, having a conversation with an older lifeguard, or being the last minnow standing. 

To me, Club Brittany signifies a state of innocence and pure bliss that I may never be so lucky to find in another place.

At the end of this summer, I will be saying goodbye to an era where Club Brittany was “mine.” I will be saying goodbye to an era where I work for a man who taught me how to swim 17 years ago. I will be saying goodbye to an era where seven year old girls follow me around yelling “Coach Katelyn! Coach Katelyn!!” with love in their eyes. I will be saying goodbye to an era where I am surrounded by a group of people that share the same joy in seeing a full pool on a sunny day. As a rising third year, it seems that many of my peers are finding themselves at this same crossroad.     

Saying goodbye to Club Brittany means saying goodbye to my childhood. Whether I was waddling into the pool in my swim floaties, dragging myself to swim practice, riding my bike down with my friends, carrying a swim workout for a slew of ten year olds, or walking in with that characteristic lifeguard power strut, Club Brittany has always been a constant in my life. 

As I examine what Club Brittany has meant to me for all these years, it has hit me that we all have these "happy places" in some shape or form. At some point in our life, we are forced to step away from these magical places in order to dive into the real world. After some good quality lifeguard stand meditation, I have decided that it is important to think about all I that have gained by being such a pool rat for all these years.

At this point in my Club Brittany career, the awesome kids that come to our pool constantly inspire me. These kids have no fear (a lifeguard’s worst nightmare, but I admire them for it), don’t care what anyone thinks of them, and are at their happiest just playing at the pool. 

Throughout my life, I am making it a goal to garner this carefree happiness and remember to savor each small thing that gives me joy. I also plan on continuing the spirit of appreciating my surroundings for the beauty that they hold. Club Brittany is a rare sliver of untouched land that I have taken for granted for so long. Just walking down the gravel hill toward our pool fills me up and makes me feel whole again after a year of studying, working, paper writing, and more studying.    

I encourage you to remember your childhood happy places and reflect on how important they were in your lives. I know that Club Brittany has given me a place that will be there for me as long as I am willing to return to it. No matter where I end up in life, I aim to keep the magic of Club Brittany Pool alive and return to it in spirit when I am in need of remembering the simple joys in life.