I believe boredom is a blessing in disguise. Boredom, though the thought of it isn’t appealing to most, can have a way of working itself out in the end to be a productive time for some. This I believe, because I am an indoor lifeguard.
This past week my composition professor handed out an assignment to my class requiring us to dig deep inside and unearth something in which we believe in, and then to compose an essay about that belief. This didn’t seem too bad, or so I thought at the time, considering I must believe in many things. The day past, as did the next, and the next without me being able to put my finger on just exactly what I believe in that I also want to write an essay about. My mind continued to fail me with my pursuit of what I believe in.
Sunday rolled around and I reported to work for my two hour shift as a lifeguard at our small, usually anemically populated indoor pool and I had other things on my mind besides my essay topic. I sat watching to three or so people in the shallow end of the pool playing basketball and I quickly became less than interested with who could do the best Air Jordan impersonation so I simply became bored. The matters which were heavy on my mind before I sat in my chair for the shift came back to me and I began thinking intensively about them. I determined the various scenarios of what our baseball lineup could look like, where certain people may be playing, and who might pitch against rival Eagle Grove this next summer for my senior year of high school baseball. This kept my mind occupied for some time as I continued to stare at, but not fully comprehend, the talent of these three future hall of fame water basketball stars in my pool. My shift ended and I stepped down from the lifeguard stand feeling pretty good about this next season and the potential of it, as well as retaining my perfect record of zero career drownings.
Then, as cliché as it may sound, it hit me! My boredom ended up being a rather enjoyable and mentally stimulating period of time for me that Sunday afternoon, this I believe. Being bored isn’t something I look forward to by any means, but the next time I am, I hope Mrs. Larson has an assignment for me, that of which I certainly believe could come true.