Som Marysecretary, it demands a human choice? How did you make that choice? So you chose God in faith, apart from God’s Grace, which sounds somewhat like Pelagianism [early 5th century heresy]. Baptism itself is a free gift of God’s Grace that comes from Christ through his body, the Church to the individual which gives the Grace so that faith in Christ, which is rooted in love/charity can grow [c.f. Gal 5:16]
As someone noted earlier, the entire history of Christianity has always seen the passage in John 3:5 as referring to Baptism, which God’s Grace is infused into the human person and the person is now a new creature and thus has communion with God, Father, Son, Holy Spirit. Ultimately, Salvation, which comes through Gods Grace is intimate communion with God.
Regards
God draws us unto Himself but we can choose to receive Him or not. He gives us that choice. I believe baptism is necessary after we receive Him into our lives. Baptism doesn’t save us. Our faith (and His Grace) does.