It shouldn’t take a near-death experience to bring to mind such a basic question.

Shortly after high school graduation, I went swimming in a lake with a small group of friends. A few of us had decided to drive out to a secluded spot in the woods, to a lake we all knew, to celebrate our passage into adulthood. There was a massive floating log tangle out in the middle of the lake, which we swam out to, jumping off it like kids who thought, like most teenagers, that we would live forever. No lifeguard, rescue equipment, boat, or any way to be reached – yet there was no reason to believe anything could go wrong.

That was the day I nearly drowned.