The Day I (Almost) Died

Song of the Day: "Shooting Star" by Owl City
Accessory of Awesome: team Twix bracelet
Pages written: its still at FREAKIN ZERO

This is the story of how I died.

I'm kidding. This is the story of how I almost died. So don't get too concerned. It all started two days ago.

My best friend and I are masters of the #YOLO movement. We use the real meaning of #YOLO (you only live once) and try to bend the rules a bit. Apparently we bent those rules a bit too far yesterday afternoon.

"Spontaneous adventure" is what I call it. "Trying to get yourselves killed" is what most normal people call it. Ash (my best friend) and I were just looking for some adventure and fun. So we decided that as soon as we left Maymont Park in Richmond, we would head over to Belle Isle.

Belle Isle is an island in the middle of the James River. You get to it by walking across a bridge and it has some nice rocks surrounding it. This makes it a nice place to fish, hang out, kayak, and go tubing. Lots of teenagers go hang out here...some of them for not so friendly reasons.

Ash and I were here to hang out. We actually weren't planning on getting in. We were in jean shorts and t-shirts. We didn't have any towels or anything. We were just looking for something to do. So, as soon as we actually FOUND Belle Isle, we started walking.

It takes about 15 minutes to reach it. You park under an old metal bridge and then you have to walk over to the pedestrian bridge. The pedestrian bridge is attached to the underbelly of the highway bridge, and it makes some pretty funky noises. The cars are speeding over head making the bridge rattle and shake.

I loved it. Ash was less than excited. I don't know what it is, but being high up just excites me. It used to terrify me, but then I climbed the climbing tower three times in a  row at camp and I got over my fear. Weird, right? Haha!

So as you cross the bridge (and examine the less than friendly graffiti) you get to a little clearing. To your left is a big, metal structure that reminds me of the Dominican Republic. To your right is the path to the rocks.

Ash and I walked along the path, following the shirtless man with a guitar and two dogs. You know you have your life together when you're a dude who just carries his guitar around for fun while walking your dogs.

We made it to the rocks and waded into the water. It was beautiful. We didn't really think we were going to get all the way in...but then Ash slipped in. So I just got in too.

Then, like the idiot I am, I decided I thought it would be a good idea if we swam to another rock. I went first, and as I heard Ash say that it probably wasn't a good idea...

I got swept down stream. I was never really scared. I probably should have been. It would've been super easy for me to get my foot caught in a rock and then been sucked under. Or I could have hit my head on a rock. But none of those things occurred to me.

The current was super strong. I tried to brace myself against a rock but I kept slipping farther down stream. I finally grabbed a hold of a rock and pulled myself on top. I turned around, looking for Ash, and realized she was still going down stream.

I ran after her like her life depended on it. I guess it kind of did...

She finally caught herself on a rock and we made it back to the rock. But then we were stuck in the middle of the river, with at least fifteen or twenty yards between us and the shore line. And that fifteen to twenty yards was filled with rapids.

Now I know what your thinking. Why didn't we just climb back on the rocks? Well...we were kind of stranded. Why didn't we call for help? Not only was our stuff back where we had started...we were too stubborn to call for help.

The water was swiftly battering the rocks before us as we watched, which didn't do much for our optimism.

There were three bigger rocks between us and the shore. We figured that if we used those rocks as safe points, stopping there to rest every few minutes, we could make it to shore.

So we started. We only slipped up once or twice. There was only point where I had to reach back and grab Ash.

It took us almost twenty minutes to get to shore. But we didn't die. We scrambled up the bank and made it to the path.

Ash blames it all on me. I do too...but we survived right? So it was a good day!

I was exhausted when it was all over. So i slept like a rock last night.

Well, I'll try my best not to die anymore. Deal?

Christina