There is a little tradition at St Andrews university called the may dip. all students who have made academic misdemeanours (traditional ones such as academic incest or wearing your gown wrong) are cursed to fail their degree unless they complete the dip.
In my four years at St Andrews I have never done the dip yet, and for good reason. It involves going down to the north sea and running in at dawn, completely submerging yourself into the icy water and emerging curse-free.
So as this was my last year at university I had to do it this time round, and oh god it was far worse then I ever could have imagined.
Me and my friend hannah drove up to the beach at around 5am. It was already packed, people arriving left right and centre in various states of sobriety and undress. I had the great luck of doing the dip sober as alcohol is not a good idea for me at the moment so I didn't have the courage or the alcohol blanket of my fellow dippers. As we walked towards the beach I began to get more and more nervous. We got out of our clothes and started walking towards the sea. Very quickly we sped up and started to run so we wouldn't lose nerve.
Running
My heart was pounding.
Running
The sea approaches quickly looking deceptively calm for something so evil.
Running
And then my toes hit the ocean. It doesn't even feel cold it just feels sharp, someone stabbing my feet.
I've been running pretty fast by this point so my momentum keeps me going as my legs slowly get swallowed up by what feels like ice shards and knives mixed together. When the water hits my chest I stop breathing. By this point we can't run any further as our legs have seized up from the cold. So we duck down to submerge ourselves as much as possible and turn back.
My legs are spasming and I cant breathe but as I move out of the water the air feels warm on my skin and that makes me start running again. At first it feels like I'm wading through thick chocolate but as I get further out it gets easier and I make it back up the beach and then collapse next to my clothes.
Me and hannah just look at each other with a combination of relief for doing it and pain from the cold.
I dry my frozen body off and try and rub some feeling back into my legs with a towel.
We drive back to my house (at this point its around 5.40am) and sit on towels on my sofa with some hot chocolate. We say goodnight and I go have a shower to defrost my still frozen body.
I get into bed shivering for about 2 hours. And then, finally, I drift off to sleep.
And that was my wonderful story of the time I jumped in the sea. Although I am glad I did it nothing will ever make me do that again. Waking up that morning was the worst thing in the world. I was already feeling sick but my morning jump had made me feel like I needed my inhaler for the first time in three years. So excellent timing all round but I'm going to spend the next few days in bed recovering.
Goodbye all I shall see you after my mini hibernation
Love Frankles
xxxx
In my four years at St Andrews I have never done the dip yet, and for good reason. It involves going down to the north sea and running in at dawn, completely submerging yourself into the icy water and emerging curse-free.
So as this was my last year at university I had to do it this time round, and oh god it was far worse then I ever could have imagined.
Me and my friend hannah drove up to the beach at around 5am. It was already packed, people arriving left right and centre in various states of sobriety and undress. I had the great luck of doing the dip sober as alcohol is not a good idea for me at the moment so I didn't have the courage or the alcohol blanket of my fellow dippers. As we walked towards the beach I began to get more and more nervous. We got out of our clothes and started walking towards the sea. Very quickly we sped up and started to run so we wouldn't lose nerve.
Running
My heart was pounding.
Running
The sea approaches quickly looking deceptively calm for something so evil.
Running
And then my toes hit the ocean. It doesn't even feel cold it just feels sharp, someone stabbing my feet.
I've been running pretty fast by this point so my momentum keeps me going as my legs slowly get swallowed up by what feels like ice shards and knives mixed together. When the water hits my chest I stop breathing. By this point we can't run any further as our legs have seized up from the cold. So we duck down to submerge ourselves as much as possible and turn back.
My legs are spasming and I cant breathe but as I move out of the water the air feels warm on my skin and that makes me start running again. At first it feels like I'm wading through thick chocolate but as I get further out it gets easier and I make it back up the beach and then collapse next to my clothes.
Me and hannah just look at each other with a combination of relief for doing it and pain from the cold.
I dry my frozen body off and try and rub some feeling back into my legs with a towel.
We drive back to my house (at this point its around 5.40am) and sit on towels on my sofa with some hot chocolate. We say goodnight and I go have a shower to defrost my still frozen body.
I get into bed shivering for about 2 hours. And then, finally, I drift off to sleep.
And that was my wonderful story of the time I jumped in the sea. Although I am glad I did it nothing will ever make me do that again. Waking up that morning was the worst thing in the world. I was already feeling sick but my morning jump had made me feel like I needed my inhaler for the first time in three years. So excellent timing all round but I'm going to spend the next few days in bed recovering.
Goodbye all I shall see you after my mini hibernation
Love Frankles
xxxx
 |
| Proud yet frozen solid. |
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