Hi there, I’m H2O, the water molecule. I make up, and others like me, make up the water you drink, the water you swim in, and even the water in the air. You may think my life is pretty boring, and it can be at times, but usually it’s full of fun! Confused? Here, I’ll show you what I mean.

My earliest memory is of the ocean, with a bunch of other water and sodium chloride (that’s a fancy name for salt) molecules. This one time, as I was pushed towards the top, towards the light and heat of the sun, I felt the molecules around me become more frantic, and we rose as a gas. This is called evaporation.

We rose, and the temperature became much colder and we could see the dust particles around me. We could see the land from way above, through a hazy white substance, which I later realized was clouds. We were a part of the clouds, which is called condensation.

A while later, there were too many water and dust particles, and it was getting clumped. As it turned warmer, we turned back in liquid, and started pelting towards Earth. This is called precipitation. You know it as rain (or sometimes snow or hail).

It was like what I imagined human skydiving to be but without the parachute. Fortunately, I fell on a leaf, with a few of my friends. After a while, the plant decided it was thirsty, and we went through the xylem in the plant. Once it was satisfied and used up some water, it transpired us out. Do you know how if you tie a plastic bag around a plant, the plastic bag becomes misty and wet? That happened but without the plastic bag.

Once it was satisfied and used up some water, it transpired us out. Do you know how if you tie a plastic bag around a plant, the plastic bag becomes misty and wet? That happened but without the plastic bag.

We were in the air again but our glory was short-lived as we went through the process (again!) and fell back into a lake. It was just us water molecules and some other paramecia and whatnot, with no sodium chloride like in the ocean.

All along, we met other water molecules who had stayed in the ocean for a really long time and other water molecules who had lived in the lake for a long time. We even met the groundwater molecules when at the lake who had an accent and told us to visit sometime.

 All that in four days! We repeat the cycle of evaporation, condensation, and precipitation, with new twists and turns with where we end up. The life of a water molecule, with just the right amount of pixie dust luck, is never boring. 

The End