Okay, as a prelude, I am on my high school's ski team. I'm one of three freshman girls and I'm having a blast! So last night I went to sleep, just like normal. Well, this morning.....
I woke up because I heard my door open. I'm a light sleeper so I was awake very quickly, too quickly. Why? Well, had I slept for another minute I would have woken up to them in my room, at 4:20 AM, with party horns. Instead, I woke up to ten dark figures coming at me. Needless to say, I screamed. Loud. Yes, my parents let them in so they knew this was coming.
Yes, today I was initiated. From there, they threw me in the back seat of their car, blindfolded me, and drove. Because they got lost and I had to give them directions to my friend (and fellow freshman skier's) house. They left me (with another friend) in the car while they went and got her.
We went back on the road, this time I had no idea where we were going. They pulled me out of the car, still blindfolded, and onto the street. I walked as they led me, and promptly tripped on the curb. Ouch. They apologized profusely.
Next, they explained the game to us, they'd spin us around until we were dizzy, get in their cars and drive off, and we'd chase them. We were aloud to remove the blindfold after we heard the motor.
It was all going fine, until I tripped on the same curb. Double ouch. Well, asthmatic me couldn't keep up with the car. That was okay, though, because they stopped soon enough, right in front of a house.
Once I finally reached them, the re-blindfolded me and led me (carefully as they felt guilty) into the house. We walked all around before being led outside, where they told us we were to jump in a pool with all of our clothing on. Apparently, they had a change for us after words. We counted to three, plugged our noses, and jumped. My two friends (the other freshmen) didn't jump or fall into anything, the whole pool was a joke. I jumped into a pole. Triple ouch.
Thinking we were done, they led us back into the house and took the blindfold off, telling us that the second part we would face alone. One by one, they led us into the bathroom, leaving the next in line to await their fate. As the 'victim' exited the bathroom, those still waiting were blindfolded yet again. Finally, it was my turn.
The minute I get in, a pair of ski goggles with masking tape covering the eyes is fitted over me. Then, they went to work. I felt them rub something into my skin, as well as desecrate my manicure. They gave me a faux goggle tan, teased my hair, added temporary red dye, and destroyed my perfect nails.
I don't mean to sound traumatized, this was one of the most fun experiences I have ever had, still, it was strange. We left for school after eating some donuts and being given special shirts that the team made for us by hand. I was still in my pajamas.
I swore to keep all of the dye, tease, nail polish, and clothing on for the day; the punishment for not obeying would be being kicked out of my next race. I received quite a few questioning looks, still, I feel so close to all the girls now.
My last race is tomorrow. In this group I have found something I never found in cheer, ten amazing, positive, encouraging girls. There is no way I am not doing this next year. To my ski team, I love you all!
PS: I have pictures of the ruined manicure (see below) as well as the fact that all of the girls commented on the sheer amount of nail polish in my room. The worst part is, they only saw roughly half of it. Here are two pictures, the first is my manicure as of last night (SH Purple Pizazz, an amazing color) and the next is this afternoon, after I had picked a lot of the polish from my cuticles.
