As someone who has lifeguarded since I was fifteen years old, I feel confident talking on the topic of lifeguarding. It was my very first job and my introduction into the wonderful world of working for a living. Looking back, it was one of the best jobs I could have chosen and has made a huge impact on my life.
Since I started so young I relied on parents and coworkers to take me to and from the pool which was a struggle for someone like myself, who could quite literally be bleeding out and would be afraid of bothering someone by asking for help. Once there, I had to work to prove myself as the youngest guard there. The older guards often threw me head first into situations partly to help me grow in my skill and partly to watch and laugh at me struggle through it. The phrase "building character" was said to me often.
It was all in good fun though and I grew incredibly close with my fellow guards. You don't spend hours on end sitting beside one another and cleaning up bathrooms without forming some form of bond. This is also why I have concluded that all lifeguards are partly insane. The average day can be pretty boring if you don't find a way to make it fun, and that we did. There were conversations in the guard room that I could never repeat but will also never forget and that is pretty awesome.
Lifeguarding wasn't just great for the social aspect of course. It taught me not only how to keep track of my money but to budget it out and save up (especially since I already knew that I wanted to go to UGA and join a sorority...I needed the money to add up). Through my training I became experienced in life-saving skills such as first-aid and CPR/AED. While this isn't necessary for everyday use, it's comforting to know I could be able to respond confidently in an emergency, should one arise.
Overall, being a lifeguard has in part shaped me as a person and I have enjoyed every second of it. We may get some criticism for it being an easy job, and some days it is. But the whole point is to prevent things from getting hard, which most guards do a good job of. I'd much rather have an easy day than one filled with a problem.
