A Message from Monica

I have always been terrified of underwater weeds – milfoil, to be exact. Individually, the milfoil plant looks almost innocent with its tiny feather-like leaves arranged in four delicate whorls around a slight stem, swaying gently underwater. Few would pick out the lone milfoil as being an object of fear, favoring instead the dark, spiders and other creepy crawlies. But milfoil is cunning; although a solitary milfoil plant might seem harmless (at first glance), milfoil in groups is entirely another story. One of North America’s largest aquatic plant epidemics, milfoil is a menace, choking lakes and rivers, causing floods, and creeping me out. Absolutely nothing terrifies me more than a forest of this green slimy plant emerging from the blackness of the water to lick at my feet.

I will never forget that family vacation at Bunsen Lake a few years ago. I never fully appreciated the lake, mostly because I would spend my time perched on the largest inflatable mat in existence. (I developed a strategy to paddling, only allowing my fingers and toes to touch the first two centimeters of water.) One day, my brother and I decided to go to the docks with the other kids to fish. As I stood peering over the water looking for the fish, an excited child ran past me and knocked me off the dock.

The last thing I remember seeing before I hit the water was the dense forest of milfoil below. Paralyzed by fear and by the glacier-fed waters, I could feel milfoil snake around my legs and arms.

If you were to watch the news or read the newspaper, you will undoubtedly see or hear about some pretty threatening situations. It is scary to know that some of these situations lie so close to home, whether in your community or in your neighborhood. We are all exposed to terrible truths, but they are indeed truths – they are reality.

The reason I joined KIDPOWER Vancouver is because I truly believe that there are two ways in which I can act towards such truths: I can live a life of fear, or I can take charge of my safety and live my life to its fullest. At KIDPOWR Vancouver, we teach you the skills you need to keep yourself and others safe. We recognize that not all danger is apparent at first glance, teach workshop participants how to avoid being paralyzed by fear, and show how to effectively move away from danger and towards safety. Our skills are not complicated; in fact, our goal is such that you can perform these skills without thinking. Hopefully our workshop participants will never need to use the skills we teach, but if you do fall in the water, it’s best that you know how to swim.

Which reminds me, I forgot to finish my story. My brother tells me that I swam to the edge of the dock and yelled for help – I have no recollection of this. Although my mind had shut down, my body took over and used the skills I had learned in previous swimming lessons. The best way I can describe the change I experienced that day is that I felt empowered. Milfoil is still very much my object of fear to this day, and I avoid milfoil as much as possible. I also know that if I ever encounter milfoil again, I can take care of myself.