I was born an aquarius but ironically as a child I never knew how to swim. I enjoyed going to the pool and beach, while on vacation with my mom or dad, especially when I was in the water; yet I just couldn't swim. I would dog paddle around in shallow water while my cousins or friends would go off far away with an ability that I didn't have. My father told me that at one point or another in my life I would have to learn how to swim because it was a human skill for survival. I didn't care about that, I just wanted to go as far out as everyone else did.
I felt out of place in a place that I liked to be, the water. So one day my older cousins decided to pick me up and take me for a swim while I was visiting California. They had not seen me in a year so when I told them I still could not swim they made it their business to teach me. I could not do it, so in an instant where I was standing next to the deep end of the pool one of them pushed me in. I feel in all the way to the bottom, I remember saying to myself "you gotta get to the top." So I did by swimming up, once my head was above water I thought I must keep it above water so I treaded water and was able to float. From there I already knew conventional stroke and commensed with swimming. Looking back I realized that at that point I was enlightened, I was able to fully experience what I loved to do. I had learned a skill that eluded me for so long. In addition, I had done it on my own. Kant would have been very proud of me because I used my own understanding and had the courage to reach new abilities to save my own life.
My enlightenment went beyond the ability to swim. That event showed that it is never impossible to learn something new. As human beings we have the ability to learn new things. Moreover, no matter what manner we take we can gain a skill. All it takes is hardwork, dedication or just simply having the courage to dive in.