River Jump 2013: A New Year's Dip in the Mon

For the third year in a row, I was up early on New Year's Day. The thought of waking up before 8 a.m. after a late-night holiday for many is completely foolish. The thought of waking up before 8 a.m. after a late-night holiday to jump in an icy cold river for nearly all is completely idiotic. It's idiotic fun to be had, and it's one of my favorite things that's become a tradition with some very good friends.

The two previous years it had been gloriously mild. Temps both years were in the 50s. This year, it was below 30 and snowing. Finally. A true Polar Bear Jump. This year's jumpers were much the same as last year's, with our last year's photographer taking her first plunge.

We shouted "Monongahela!" before this was snapped. WTAE was there; not sure if we made it to the television screen.

This costume made me laugh all morning.

Honestly, the worst part was the cold ground on my bare feet. That was really terrible.

The secret is stripping down in stages.

Another secret is to huddle together for warmth.

And to argue about how to do a countdown in an effort to stall the inevitable.

Oh, yeah, and then you're like "GET ME OUT OF THIS RIVER WHY DID I DO THIS?"

We all gathered together for a big brunch after we all took showers to wash the river away. It was cold and a bit crazy, but I'm glad this is a tradition that continues.

The Only Fear You Have to Overcome Is Getting the Nerve to Do It

2012:

My oh my. I am so excited for you.

When I went to bed on New Years Eve (somewhere in the neighborhood of 4 a.m., as text messages prove I was still functioning at that time), I had drank enough and danced enough and climbed over one fence enough to forget that my plans in the very quickly approaching morning were to jump in the Mon. At 8:30 a.m.

(Yikes.)

Honestly, when my alarm went off at 7:50 a.m., I had really forgotten why I had set an alarm for so early. It wasn't till I looked at my phone and read the "alarm reminder" I had set (amazingly, this was a task I was able to complete before passing out), and it said: RIVER!!!!!

So I stumbled out of bed, found some acceptable river-jumping clothes, and met up with my fellow river-jumpers outside on Gross Street.

We got down to the Mon Wharf and parked. It was a BEAUTIFUL Pittsburgh morning. Sunny, clear, warm. We found a spot and recapped our evenings, as we had all spent New Years Eve at separate parties and gatherings.

The river-jumpers: Yigit, Eric, Georgiana, Corey, Me, and Carrie

Seriously, the morning could not have been more beautiful.

But that nice weather changed to gray skies and then a slight drizzle started, and then, minutes before the jump, it basically started to pour. We shook it off and started disrobing. We took our spots on the edge of the river. We counted down from ten.

10, 9, 8...

7, 6, 5, 4...

3, 2, 1!

JUMP!

This was my second New Years Day river-jump. I started off 2011 by doing the same idiotically fun activity. When my body hit the icy water this year, I remember having the same immediate feeling of confusion. The water is so cold and, at that point in the year, being submerged in water is not something you've been doing a lot of. My mind kind of went blank until I realized what I had just done and started figuring out my next move: getting out of the river.

Last year, I struggled to lift myself out from the water. Someone on the wharf pulled me up and out. This year was different. I pulled myself up and out.

2011 was an insanely difficult year for me. It will always be marred by losing my mom, which threw me into a real spell of sadness and gloominess. With the help of friends and family, I made it to the end of 2011 intact (even after getting hit by a car on the last Tuesday of the year while riding home from work...). I'm ready for the challenges I know I'll face this year (her birthday, my birthday, the one-year anniversary of her death), but I'm also ready for a fresh start.

A lot of years I make resolutions in order to become "a better version of me." This year, I want to just continue being the person I have become. I want to stay hungry for adventure. I want to stay foolish and keep discovering. I'm so excited for 2012.

IN OTHER NEWS:

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