A Dip in the Chip

I would like to preface this post with the following: the main exigence for starting this blog was my to cross it off my bucket list and to document my pursuit to accomplish the rest of things on the list. I am striving for honesty and writing this for myself not for others. That being said, some items on my list are experiences I would not openly tell people about and I would hope that if the reader knows me, they will not judge me for any accounts I record on this page.

A few Monday nights go, I was working the security desk for Cody. I had just started working on my bucket list and Malcolm, who so kindly stays with me during my shifts, was looking it over. We were going over things that I could accomplish before he left. He grew quite fond of the idea of skinny dipping. I'm not sure what came over me but I said, "Lets go tonight."

He didn't think I was serious but I was insistent. Even though it was cold, and late and random, I was serious. Looking back, I'm still not exactly sure why I was so confident in this decision. The thought of jumping naked into a freezing body of water where I could be caught, terrifies me. Actually, the thought of being naked anywhere terrifies me. Despite being terrified, ironically, I think it was fear that motivated me to do. Maybe it was my fear of leaving college without making any crazy memories, maybe it was fear of time passing, or maybe it was the fear of always making up an excuse to not do it. Or maybe, it is my ever persistent awareness of my limited time with Malcolm and my desire to have as many stupid, crazy, weird, adventurous times with him as possible.

I finished working at midnight and Malcolm once again asked me if I wanted to do this. I knew that if I didn't do it tonight, I was not going to do it at all this semester so I said yes, lets go. I needed to drop me backpack off in my room and change into more appropriate clothes. I got ready and headed back down to meet a grinning Malcolm. We made our way through the lobby which was still full of people, including RA's and the Hall Director. I tried not to think about what they were thinking watching me, in cameo sweatpants, a baggy sweatshirt and chaco's and him walk out the door at 12:15 at night and I tried to ignore the pounding of my heart.

We make it outside and it is a crisp October night. Malcolm turns to me once more and asks, "Are you sure you want to do this? Its going to be freezing." I was not going to be dissuaded, I replied once more, "yes, lets do it" and we headed down the hill. We trekked over the foot bridge and down the path to get to the beach. We ended up underneath the driving bridge and decided it would be the best spot for the swim.

We quickly got in the frigged water. I waded till I was a little over waist deep and on the count of three we fully submerged. When we surfaced, we hurried back to the warmth of clothing.

We began the long walk back, taking our time. We laughed, joke and allowed time to dry off before having to reenter Govs. We made it back around 1:30AM, damp, cold, exhausted but glowing from the thrill of the evening.