By: Melissa Zhao

I am a warrior, a born leader. I’m bold and curious, willing to explore new things that others deem as creepy. I am braver than most, and there are few, if none, things that can scare me. Sure, I can be a bit arrogant at times, but what’s life without some self-flattery?

I have a list of what I will do when I am old enough. Why am I not doing it all already, you might ask? Well, as a twelve year old, I cannot do most of the things I want to do! Seriously, when will adults learn that being responsible doesn’t always mean being old? I want to go wingsuit flying, crocodile cage diving, and so much more. Whenever I complain, tmy father tells me, “I get you, but you will when you’re old enough,” and waves bye to me as he rushes off to go skydiving. Like, really!

Anyway, putting aside the world’s older equals wiser/mature/responsible bias, yesterday at swimming, which, by the way, I am such a PRO at, my best friend, Ellem, she asked me, “If you could choose to be any animal, what would you be?” I didn’t answer at the time, thinking, I would much rather be me, thanks. But I’ve been thinking about it, and I have to agree that it is a worthy question.

If I could choose any animal, my first choice would be a dolphin to roam the deep and daunting seas. As a dolphin, I could frolic and playfully – or not – bicker with my pod, hunting and diving deep into the refreshing water.

I could dive deep down into the coral reefs and watch the beautiful but delicious fish, their bright colors clashing with the mellow colors of the reef – then SNAP! – I would snatch a fish with my teeth and swallow it whole. Or, on other occasions, when I am not hungry, which is rare, I would admire the colors with my pod and simply watch them play in the grasp of the reef. But seriously, where’s the fun in that?

Or, I could follow boats that are full of gleeful humans excited to watch us swim and play – or in other words, just do what dolphins do! Then I could snap words at them that they don’t understand and they’ll be like, “Awww, that’s so cute,” even when they don’t know what I said. Wow.

I would race through the ocean without a worry in mind, just thinking about the rush of bubbles raining around me and the playful clicks of my pod racing me. Oh, and the thought of winning against all of my fellow dolphins! The exhilaration of being out in the open ocean, a vast but dangerous place, would be enough to free me from most worries.

I would jump and twist high, high, up into the sky, squinting under the rude glare of the sun, momentarily flying and suddenly the water once again rushes up under me and I dive back under the light waves. Competing with my pod about who could jump higher, I would put all my might into gracefully flipping upward and lightly splashing back into the water. Or sometimes, I would flip into the water with all my might and splash my fellow dolphins in the face. Ha!

I would explore every nook and cranny of coral reefs, looking for small caves to hide in, then wait for one of my pod’s dolphins to come by. Then POP! I come hurtling out and giving the dolphin a bad scare. Swimming at my fastest speed, I would feel the water pushing off my body and slowly speed up, racing with my competitive pod, though their competitive level added together is not as much as mine.

If I was a dolphin, I would dive and splash, play and explore, and I would be free in the large, vast, ocean. When it is finally time to sleep, I would settle down, satisfied with my day of exploring new places and racing my pod, ready for the next day to come.