I haven’t always feared water; the inevitably deeper, stronger water; not knowing what was beneath me; the oblivion that surrounded me. That fear was taught; learned; instilled in me by the world around me; created by the culture of our society. I learned that fear by hearing the disgrace that follows a woman who is unmarried; when society taught me that being alone is wrong; as I was judged for preferring my own company over that of a large group; when I realized that I could easily be swallowed up and forgotten; as I looked at the universe around me and realized I was nothing; when I realized I had no control.