"It's Jordan Time" -- Polar Bear Swim 2012 & Project 366

Hay guys … we made it. Welcome to 2012!!! I don’t know what it is but there’s something in the air; something good, something great. And I can’t wait to own it in the best way possible. I want to take this year by the reigns and ride it into the sky. You with me? Yeah, you’re with me. I just turned 23 and it’s Jordan time. I can just feel it. It’s going to be one of the greatest years of my life and I get the vibe that many others share the same feeling. This past year currently holds the title for the greatest year of my life where I learned a lot of things, made a lot of mistakes, broke hearts and had mine broken, cried a little, laughed the hardest, was usually up but had my downs … but boy was it a ride. I feel like I’ve matured in many ways this year and I’m excited to see where the New Year will take me. I feel like this past year I partied a lot and I think I needed to. I got a good fix and we’ve created some amazing memories but it’s time to focus on what matters most and set my priorities at the forefront of everything else. I have so many things I want to jumpstart so I’m prepared to put in the effort and do what it takes to get it done. I’m always looking forward to learning and improving and ultimately discovering the best version of myself. I think it’s so important to strive for that yet many people don’t even try or give up. Being lazy or not even trying is quitting before even committing. I really hope all of you out there are feeling the same energy I am or at least will be inspired to. If you ever want to reach out to me, I’d be more than happy to hear from you. I’m all about it!

So last night, New Year’s Eve, was an interesting night. It had its ups and downs but for the most part, I think it wasn’t that bad of a NYE. I’ve had worse. The highlight of my night was probably when my friend Phil (Flipout) heard me singing Auld Lang Syne to myself, proceeded to drag me over to the DJ booth and only after Adi Baybay got everyone to chant my name did he get me sing it on the mic … TWICE. But I loved it. Thanks PHIL!!! You’ll hear me say this a lot, but boy does everything happen for a reason. Last night I didn’t get black out drunk like I’ve done in the past. I don’t know why, it wasn’t like I was purposely trying to avoid it, it just never really happened. But I’m glad because I wanted to remember my night and the best part about it all? Not being hungover the next day.

Which leads us to today: today was an amazing day. My mother and I went down to English Bay for the 92^nd Annual Polar Bear Swim and it was an epic experience. It’s always something I’ve wanted to do but never really got around to it. I’m either too hung over from the night before or I’m not in town. So we get there, complete the free registration and grab a coffee while we wait for the start and wow, was it the perfect day. The sun was fighting to break through the thin layer of clouds but it was nice out. It wasn’t raining and it wasn’t even that cold out. Apparently it was one of the warmest Polar Bear Swims. Once it hits 2:00pm, my mother and I line up and we’re towards the back of the crowd. I then overhear people talking about a competition. Turns out, the first three people and first female to the buoy, which was a hundred-yard swim, wins a prize! And I think their name or something on a trophy. The ridiculously competitive nature in me got completely amped up right away. If I didn’t win, I was already failing on the first day of the New Year. Once I get my eyes on the prize, nothing else matters—not the freezing water, not the hundreds of people, not how self-conscious I feel in a bathing suit in the middle of the winter. I then hop in between two guys who were making their way to the front of the crowd to help me get up there as well. Next thing you know, everyone’s running towards the water and I just remember going head first into the water with no consideration to how it’s going to feel. Because there was no proper signal to start the race, I was stuck behind a line of people. I actually almost got kicked in the face a few times. So I start doing some hard front crawl and within 15 seconds, my brain and body finally realizes that I’m swimming in liquid ice and my lungs start to seize up. It was so difficult to breathe. I went from front crawl to head up front crawl to back stroke. Half way to the buoy, I look up to see that I’m not even swimming towards the damn buoy! I finally get to the buoy where a lifeguard in a boat is waiting and to my despair, realize that I had only missed being the first female by a few seconds. But this girl came to win; she had a proper bathing suit on, a swim cap and goggles. Me, I was wearing a fancy one piece (because it was only the only one piece I had at home), I look like I just woke up, and my hair had a birds nest in it. I was definitely among the first ten or so to get there. After getting over my disappointment and catching my breath, I then turn back and start swimming towards the beach and I realize I can’t feel my body. My toes are dead to me and my body was an icicle. I climb out of the water and staggered a little bit to the side. I think I might have suffered from shock for a minute. My mother finds me and puts a towel and a robe around me. I manage to regain control of my appendages and grab my button before heading back to the car. At this point, I just want to light a fire and sit in it. But hypothermia didn’t quite make it to my brain so I made a nice bubble bath instead. Best. Idea. Ever. I don’t even remember the last time I had a bath. Oh, and for the record, I am SO taking top four next year. It is so on like Donkey Kong, brothas. You won’t even know what hit you. It’s an Asian torpedo, get out the way!!!

So, that was my day. It was a great way to start the year! As of right now on day one, I have managed to cross two things off my bucket list: a) Polar Bear Swim b) Project 365 (in this case, Project 366 thanks to the Leap Year!)

I really think everyone should try this project. Basically, all you have to do it take a picture of something that happened throughout the day and post it along with a brief story or description. You do this once for 365 days. I believe it has the power to stimulate creativity because you’ll eventually get into the mindset of finding ways to articulate your experience and also how you want to represent that through the form of a visual aid. I hope you accompany me in this journey because I’m pretty sure it’ll be a fun one.

“Here’s to change for the better, love for the harder, hope for the faithful. See you on the other side of the New Year.”