Sounds like you've made amazing progress, you should be proud! I have never been a good swimmer and developed a fear of deep water at a young age. About five years ago I decided to try diving and get my PADI certificate. The want to explore the underwater world and being able to in a structured way with teachers helped me overcome this. I'd really recommend if you ever get the chance to try diving :) You also don't actually need to be that good at swimming to dive.
Thanks for the kind words