I swam a lot until about high school. I started with lessons at the YMCA when I was about 6 and continued with that until I was about 12, at which time I took up scuba diving lessons as well. I got out of it when I started wearing contact lenses and became sensitive to chlorine, plus the public swimming pools in my city started to become gang-infested about that time so it wasn't as much fun to go to anymore. But now I live near a creek so I'm going to try swimming and snorkeling in there--just hope the bugs don't eat me alive :) The thing I like about swimming these days is that it's so relaxing!--after I come out of the water I feel so much better than when I went in.
I used to didn't mind what kind of water we got in to swim. As kids we swam in the worst of cattle tanks etc. Now, I look a little more skeptically at a lot of that water. But, I still sure do like it!