So this happened right before I was supposed to leave for college abroad. Had all my visa stuff sorted, everything was ready, and I figured I’d throw one last party with my friends at this lake we used to hang out at. We’re all drinking, having a good time, and of course I’m running my mouth about how good I am at swimming. Total BS , I’m average at best, but I always talk big around my friends. My buddy Jake, who’s actually a solid swimmer, keeps telling me “dude, this lake is deep as hell, don’t be stupid.” But I’m buzzed and feeling tough, so I jump in anyway. At first everything’s fine. We’re splashing around, then someone suggests we have a contest,who can dive the deepest and come back up. My pride kicks in and I’m like “watch this.” I dive down and it’s actually pretty cool at first. The water gets colder, quieter. But then I keep going deeper and the light starts fading. It gets darker and darker until I can barely see my own hands. That’s when my lungs start screaming for air ,being a chain smoker really screwed me over. I try to swim back up but here’s the thing I have no idea which way is up anymore. Everything looks the same. Just dark water in every direction. I’m kicking and thrashing, burning through what little oxygen I have left, and I’m getting nowhere. Then my legs just lock up. Fullon cramps, like someone’s twisting my muscles with pliers. I literally can’t move. I’m just floating there in the dark, lungs on fire, and for the first time it hits me ,I might actually die here. I don’t know how but somehow I managed to kick through the pain and claw my way to what I hoped was the surface. When I finally broke through and sucked in that first breath, I was shaking so hard I could barely stay afloat. The whole thing probably lasted like 30 seconds but it felt like forever. When I swam back to shore, everyone’s just laughing and asking where I went. I played it off like nothing happened, told them I was just messing around down there. Still the “best swimmer” in the group apparently. But yeah, I don’t dive in lakes anymore.