All I could see in front of me was black. As I looked more carefully, there were some lights floating, but all I could see was calm, empty space. There is no way I’m getting in that water. I stood on the shore and watched the figures of my three friends screaming and sprinting into the Aegean Sea. As soon as I heard their feet splash through the water, I couldn’t help myself. I rushed into the water at what felt like the speed of light and didn’t look back. Once I couldn’t touch the bottom anymore, I dove under and let myself glide through the water. I’ve never had a more exhilarating experience in my life.

I had been in Greece for two and a half weeks already, and had not gone for a night swim in the sea yet. One night, after my friends and I finished our papers for summer school, we suddenly decided that we had to go for our night swim. Our apartments were in downtown Athens, about twenty minutes away from the beach, and it was already well past midnight. Cab rates double after midnight, but we couldn’t convince ourselves to not go. Our taxi driver gave us a great deal to take us there, and even parked his car by the beach so he could take us back. We’d planned this night perfectly, but I still couldn’t convince myself to go in. Just let go and run in. I couldn’t. The only motivation I had for getting into that water was just to be able to say I did it. When I heard my friends yelling and laughing and splashing around, I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and ran.

The best way to describe the feeling I had as I was running towards the water was pure exhilaration. When I finally reached the water, all I could feel was anticipation. And finally, I have never felt freer or more bliss than I did as I felt myself glide through the cool, dark waters of the Aegean Sea.