Skinnydipping! December 15, 2008

I am having waaaaaay too much fun looking over my old essays.  Here’s one I wrote for William and Mary.  The prompt was open and I just went for it.  I got in, so they must have liked it!  Enjoy! 

 

Oh and keep in mind that I used random names.  These are the names of elementary school friends, not the actual people with whom I did this.

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The ten of us sat in the Jacuzzi, grinning nervously at one another as the water simmered.  Could we, ten church-going best friends, abandon all pretensions and do this? Nobody was home to see us, but could we be that vulnerable with one another?

            I answered the unspoken questions with a shriek of laughter and abandoned the bubbly concealment of the Jacuzzi.  Within seconds, everyone had followed me and stood in a semicircle before the pool, awaiting my command (it was my idea, after all). 

            I stood before them like a general preparing her troops for battle.

            “On the count of three! One…Two…Three! Drop trou!” 

            Flinging our dripping bikinis into the darkness, we began circling like savages around the patio. We whooped and twirled and leapt, painting the cement with our steaming footprints as we left our insecurities behind and donned the cool raiment of the summer. 

            If only for a moment, we let go of all the worries that bound our weary hearts to the fetters of everyday life.  For a few hours, Sarah stopped counting calories because she hated her body and wished she were slimmer.  For a few hours, Rachel stopped worrying that her mother would relapse and go back into alcohol rehabilitation.  For a few hours, I forgot about my genetically fragile back that had recently failed me when I needed it most.  Those anxieties were for later, when the shimmering moon faded and the night no longer whispered our names.  When reality finally took hold, we would comfort each other as we wept for the trials of our pasts and dreamed about the successes of our futures.  But for now, we were content to dance in Marina’s backyard, our pale, adolescent limbs glistening in the light of the August moon. 

            “What do you think God says when He looks down and sees us doing this?” asked Morwenna, the most conservative of us all.  Giggling as she performed a slippery pirouette, Kaitlyn responded with exactly what was on my heart. 

            “Dang! Look at those beautiful young princesses of mine.  I don’t think I could have made them any more perfect.  I can’t wait until they see the plans I have for them.”

            Amen to that.    

 

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I’m amazed I got into college with all of the ridiculous essays I wrote.

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