Every year since I was twelve I have always wanted to push my limits in water. Well five years ago I had an idea that it would be fun for me to jump in the Columbia River in the middle of December, a time when the weather is so bad rarely anyone would jump in due to the danger. Then 2 years later when I was 16 I finally had an excuse to do something I have wanted to do for a while. The idea was to jump in the Columbia River on 12/12/10 which was the date for my girlfriend and I being together for a year. I got her to agree to jump with me. I did give her the option to not jump in with me, but she was willing to give it a try.

On 12/12/10 we went down to a dock at the Columbia River and we waited for my parents to get here, because they wanted to be there to watch. Once they got there, we went out of the car and walked to the dock. Kilynn, my girlfriend, was already complaining about how cold it was.
I went to the edge of the dock and Jeff, my stepfather, offered twenty dollars to each of us to jump in. He probably felt like we needed some motivation to jump and he really wanted to see us freeze. I was going to do it anyway, so it was a bonus for me, but for Kilynn it was motivation.
I went ahead and Splash! I went into the freezing cold water. When I hit the water it was one of the coldest moments of my life. It felt like my body went completely numb. I knew I was in water, but I could not feel the water around me.
After swimming to the surface, my body started to relax and my body seemed to take it very well. The water was not warm of course, but it was not freezing cold anymore so I swam. I took a breath with each stroke until I got back up to the boat launch and collected my twenty dollars. Getting out was almost as cold as getting in.

Now it was Kilynn’s turn, so I walked down the dock to go motivate her. With each step it felt like needles were touching my feet, but it didn’t bother me. I went up to Kilynn and told her it wasn’t even that bad. I told her I will jump again with her. My body was starting to feel warm, so I grabbed her hand and took her in with me.
Splash-splash! It was not even close to as bad for me as the first jump, but for Kilynn started to freak out saying she couldn’t breathe. I told her to get on my back and I swam to the boat launch. I started getting exhausted. I have never breathed so hard in my life, but I never gave up. Swimming toward the boat launch, with every breath taking a stroke. Kilynn collected her twenty dollars and went straight to the heated car. As for me I said my goodbyes to my family and walked to the car. For some reason my body actually felt really good, it never has felt so relaxed and brand new before. My skin was also very soft, my stomach was as smooth as a baby’s butt.

From then on, every year, I jump in the river on December twelfth, as for my girlfriend that one time was her last, which I can understand. Every year though I push my limits and swim farther and longer than the year before. I do it because I want it to be a tradition for me, but I also see it as a yearly cleansing of the body. It is a time to forget about all the stress and to really appreciate life.