My hands tensed and I felt a scream crawling up my throat, pushing up to my mouth about to explode from my vocal cords. I felt like kicking the s*** out of my dogs as thy nipped at my feet. I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! The pressure, the overworked mind I was subjected to, the constant nagging from my parents.

"Megan, you better keep your grades up. Megan, you know this will determine your ENTIRE future? Megan, why aren't you working harder?"

Just shut up for once! I stomped so hard on the rocky pavement in my backyard that it felt like nails piercing through the tender soles of my feet. I barged out of the squeaky gate leading to the rest of the backyard and growled out some stress as I approached the pool. My toes scraped over the edge of the rough sandstone border that encircled the gleaming water. A gentle breeze whisked by and flew between my many strands of long brown hair and swept around my neck. The banana tree swayed in the river of twisting air, and its leaves rustled against each other making the sound of crumpled paper floating along the side of the sidewalk. The blue green waves swished in the pool, and brilliant gold rays flickered off the curves of the tiny ripples. Perfumes of orchids, ranging in color form magenta to a rich royal blue to a dark deep purple, floated over the pool like an air bubble unable to escape the tranquil atmosphere in my backyard. The combination of the soothing sound of the waterfall dripping on the wrinkles of sandstone and the placid breeze seemed to make the exploding volcano of stress and anger subside.

I tossed my towel onto the table behind me and slowly raised my arms above my head. In and out… I took in a breath, as if I were gathering the rage inside my lungs and releasing it with a vast exhale. Without testing the temperature of the water, I leaped into the air, feeling the back of my toes scrape against the scratchy sandstone. I felt like I was in a different world, rid of all the “life doesn’t just suck… it swallows” attitude that consumed ever single thought going through my head during every second of my life. I was flying for a split second, soaring above the cool blue water, lifted by the wistful breeze. My heart seemed to stop as I was in mid-air, and then I was bathed in calmness. I was falling, dropping down into the water, washing away the little scraps of anger and tension that remained inside me. Prickly chills of water rushed up my spine, and light tickles of hair brushed against the sides of my face.

I sprang to the surface; a gasping breath rang from my lungs. Easing backwards, onto my back, I floated, swaying in the water like a lily pad in a pond. MY eyes closed and I smiled, drifting into my own world, disappearing into my own thoughts and wonderings. I became the lily pad, no purpose but to float on the top of the soothing pond, no stressing over school, chores, or life in general. I wriggled my toes as the warm rays of the sun consumed the last drops of water. I simply breathed. The pool was my waterbed, and I just lay around breathing, letting in the calming breeze and letting out the thick, storming tension in my veins. “I can’t believe this… I’m 14 years old and I am happy that I actually have time to sit and breathe,” I whispered to myself, laughing at the thought. I filtered the smooth water between my fingers, slowly spinning around in the warm bath of peace fullness.

While rubbing my toes against the chalky, white pool bottom, I dove under, like cutting the string that tied me down to earth. The fuzzes of surface noises soon disappeared as the echoing ripples filled my ears. The water slid down my sides like a fan blowing cool thick air across my face. The small droplets of water that had squeezed through my numb lips brought a taste of salt into my mouth as if I were bathing in the ocean. My hair danced around my face as if the water gave it life and tremendous energy. I watched the golden brown strands prance around, floating up and down like jellyfish. Slowly I rose above the water letting the clan air through my nose filling my lungs like I had starved my lungs of oxygen. My eyelids were still closed and glowed a vibrant orange as the sun streamed onto my wet face. I slowly opened my eyes and smiled, watching the sun peek over the fence, wondering what I was doing.

Water splattered down form the waterfall creating the sound of a running stream. Easily, I swam over to the trickling water, following the tiny ripples, and let the plops of water run over my face. My back pressed against the tough sandstone, as I watched the droplets dribble off my eyelashes and onto my cheeks. The warm water washed over my face and ran into my mouth, as the breeze swished onto my ears. The salty drips warmed my tongue and my muscles went numb.

I looked down at my fingers, wrinkled from the soaking in water for so long. I smiled as the sun grazed over the pool and dipped behind the fence. I swam over to the steps, raising my drenched body out of the pool. While wrapping my towel around myself, I smiled as I stared down at the pool, the place where I can wash away my worries and forget about everything. The place where I can just be a lily pad in a pond.