Courage starts here: Sheryl’s story

“Be fearless!”

Those are Sheryl’s words of wisdom for her kids.

But in saying them, she realized that she was letting her own fear of the water hold her children back from learning how to swim.

Sheryl grew up in Barbados, so people always assume that she loves to swim. But whenever she gets near the water she becomes overwhelmed with fear.

When Sheryl’s kids were young, she wouldn’t let them go into the water. She was terrified that if something happened, she wouldn’t be able to help them. In discussions with her husband, he convinced her not to let her fears keep their kids from learning to swim.

They arrived at the YMCA and a caring instructor took each of her kids by the hand. At that moment, she knew everything would be okay.

Today, Beckham dives right down to the bottom. And Mychael-May loves the water so much, she’s going to be a volunteer swimming assistant at the YMCA.

Now, Sheryl’s kids want her to get into the pool to face her fears.

And she says the YMCA is where she will find the courage to learn.