The Bests and Worsts of Being a Lifeguard

By Kirstyn Dvorak

Bests:

1. One perk of being a lifeguard is getting to swim for free. When it’s 100 degrees outside and I have been lifeguarding all day it’s nice to get to go swimming without having to spend my hard earned money.

2. Another good thing about being a lifeguard is not having to follow the rules I am getting paid to enforce. We can run around the outside of the pool, hang off the end of the diving boards, float on the basketball, and perform gainers, homers, and running backflips no questions asked.

3. One of the better parts about being a lifeguard is the hours. Other than the dreaded Tuesday morning meetings, I almost never have to be to work before one 1:00, which gives me time to sleep in and be to work with time to spare.

4. Another perk is making money. Being a lifeguard requires me to do almost nothing and get paid. I sit on my butt all day. Let’s face it, hardly anyone ever starts drowning, so all I do is watch kids play games and have fun.

5. My favorite part about being a lifeguard is getting to spend time with my fellow lifeguards. When I see someone every day it’s hard not to become friends, and I end up with a few more great people in my life.

Worsts:

1. The number one worst part of being a lifeguard is having small, defiant children disobey me. There is nothing that angers me more than when I make a simple request such as, “Please don’t float on the basketball,” and some snotty little 8 year old gives me the stink eye, especially since I can’t do anything about it. As a lifeguard, I’m there to save lives, not try to whip kids into shape, so all I can do is take the stink eye with a smile and wait for them to break another rule so I can sit them out.

2. The second worst part is the heat. When I have to sit in the sun for two hours in-between breaks and my job is watching other people take a refreshing dip in nice cold water, I can get a little upset.

3. Another bad part about being a lifeguard is having “auxiliary”, which means I have to clean the pool, bathrooms, and take out the trash. I am one of those people with a weak stomach, and when I have to swim twelve feet down to the bottom of the pool to retrieve a giant ball of someone else’s hair, it makes me want to quit my job.

4. One of the worst parts is having to sit on the stand while my friends are swimming. Being a lifeguard is a fairly boring job, and when I see my friends having fun and have to sit there making sure they don’t drown, it’s even worse.

5. Another bad part about being a lifeguard is having Tuesday morning meetings. During the summer it’s easy to get my days mixed up and when I have to call one of the lifeguards every Tuesday at 8 a.m. because he or she thinks it is Monday, it gets annoying. Especially when I’m the lifeguard they always have to call.