I can’t swim because I have a strong fear of water. Look back on my childhood experience, I think three reason might explain the fear. The first reason is that I was not allowed to walking near the water when I was a child, for my mother had unreasonable fear of it. So , even as a child, when I was taught to see the water as something danger. Second, my eyes became bad when I was five . If only I took off my glasses in the water, I could not see anything, but this increased my fear. The worst part of your experience is that as a child once, I see a neighbor drown. Since then I have been more frightened.