One Defective Life Jacket Away From Drowning
Donation protected
***The idea for this authenticity exercise and GoFundMe is the brainchild of my dear, loving, supportive friend Emily Drake*** GOAL: I'd like to take a deserving woman or (two) to swim school with me.
You know what? I don’t know how to swim. I’m not afraid of water. I LOVE the ocean! Put a life jacket on me and I’ll snorkel anywhere the water is clear and the fish are beautiful. What I have been afraid of is letting people know my little, dripping wet secret. I’ve snorkeled in oceans all over the world, I’ve jumped in the pool after my brother-from-another-mother’s wedding in Mexico and I hit the SummertimeChi boating scene hard every summer. But the people I’m hanging out with have no idea that “I’m one defective life jacket away from drowning.” They’d never know it but I can barely doggie paddle. Shocking, I know!
The main photo was around the age my parents first put me and my brother in swim lessons at the YMCA in Lima Ohio. I don’t know what the heck happened because my brother learned how to swim, I didn’t. I was probably too busy talking and making new friends (for those who don’t know me, I’ve always been a ‘Chatty Cathy’).
Age 40 is approaching faster than I want it to and I spent this past weekend doing some big time soul searching about what I want in life. What I’ve come up with is that the theme of my next decade is:
And you know what, dammit? I’m going after all three of those things even when it scares the hell out of me! 40 years old will be here and I need your help (ugh, I HATE the vulnerability that comes with asking for help but it’s a major part of authenticity). I think author Brene Brown would be proud of me!
So here’s what I’m doing to prepare for my Big 4-0 filled with Authenticity, Joy & Learning New Things:
One: Suck up my embarrassment and publicly announce... “My name is PJ McGuire and I don’t know how to swim!” Can you say scary?!? Heck my mother may not even know that I can’t swim and her money went to waste. Sorry Mom, I love you!
***my gorgeous mother knows how to swim, I was just pretending***
Two: Sign up for adult swim school and with your help sign up a deserving woman or two. I found an intensive swim school 3-day program here in Chicago and won't need to fly all the way to Arizona as originally planned. WooHoo! Yes, I could take weekly classes and fight with my hair for months, but why when I can make a big splash. See what I did there? I'll go LIVE on Instagram and Facebook so you guys can watch progress.
Three: Ask for your help. I know I’m not the only one who would rather pull out their own teeth with rusty pliers than admit they need help. This isn’t easy for me to do but I can’t live a life of authenticity if I’m not honest about what I need and face my fears about asking for help & support. So…will you help me and other women learn to swim by donating to my GoFundMe? Every dollar gets me closer to not drowning off the coast of a Lake Michigan or a tropical island. I’m grateful for your gifts of $1, $5, $10, $20, $50 or more!
Four: Plan a pool party for my actual birthday, August 10th. I’m still working out the details of this so if you have Chicago area venue suggestions, please let me know.
Five: Invite Olympians Michael Phelps and Simone Manuel to my pool party. Yep…on my 40th birthday I want to compete against (with a substantial lead before they even jump in the pool) the one and only Michael Phelps and the first Black woman to win an individual Olympic swimming medal, Simone Manuel. Do you know either of them or someone who does? Can you help me send a personal invitation, please?
That’s it…one step at a time. If I can take this leap and face my fears, so can you.
A life filled with Authenticity, Joy and Learning New Things…will you join me?
You know what? I don’t know how to swim. I’m not afraid of water. I LOVE the ocean! Put a life jacket on me and I’ll snorkel anywhere the water is clear and the fish are beautiful. What I have been afraid of is letting people know my little, dripping wet secret. I’ve snorkeled in oceans all over the world, I’ve jumped in the pool after my brother-from-another-mother’s wedding in Mexico and I hit the SummertimeChi boating scene hard every summer. But the people I’m hanging out with have no idea that “I’m one defective life jacket away from drowning.” They’d never know it but I can barely doggie paddle. Shocking, I know!
The main photo was around the age my parents first put me and my brother in swim lessons at the YMCA in Lima Ohio. I don’t know what the heck happened because my brother learned how to swim, I didn’t. I was probably too busy talking and making new friends (for those who don’t know me, I’ve always been a ‘Chatty Cathy’).
Age 40 is approaching faster than I want it to and I spent this past weekend doing some big time soul searching about what I want in life. What I’ve come up with is that the theme of my next decade is:
And you know what, dammit? I’m going after all three of those things even when it scares the hell out of me! 40 years old will be here and I need your help (ugh, I HATE the vulnerability that comes with asking for help but it’s a major part of authenticity). I think author Brene Brown would be proud of me!
So here’s what I’m doing to prepare for my Big 4-0 filled with Authenticity, Joy & Learning New Things:
One: Suck up my embarrassment and publicly announce... “My name is PJ McGuire and I don’t know how to swim!” Can you say scary?!? Heck my mother may not even know that I can’t swim and her money went to waste. Sorry Mom, I love you!
***my gorgeous mother knows how to swim, I was just pretending***Two: Sign up for adult swim school and with your help sign up a deserving woman or two. I found an intensive swim school 3-day program here in Chicago and won't need to fly all the way to Arizona as originally planned. WooHoo! Yes, I could take weekly classes and fight with my hair for months, but why when I can make a big splash. See what I did there? I'll go LIVE on Instagram and Facebook so you guys can watch progress.
Three: Ask for your help. I know I’m not the only one who would rather pull out their own teeth with rusty pliers than admit they need help. This isn’t easy for me to do but I can’t live a life of authenticity if I’m not honest about what I need and face my fears about asking for help & support. So…will you help me and other women learn to swim by donating to my GoFundMe? Every dollar gets me closer to not drowning off the coast of a Lake Michigan or a tropical island. I’m grateful for your gifts of $1, $5, $10, $20, $50 or more!
Four: Plan a pool party for my actual birthday, August 10th. I’m still working out the details of this so if you have Chicago area venue suggestions, please let me know.
Five: Invite Olympians Michael Phelps and Simone Manuel to my pool party. Yep…on my 40th birthday I want to compete against (with a substantial lead before they even jump in the pool) the one and only Michael Phelps and the first Black woman to win an individual Olympic swimming medal, Simone Manuel. Do you know either of them or someone who does? Can you help me send a personal invitation, please?
That’s it…one step at a time. If I can take this leap and face my fears, so can you.
A life filled with Authenticity, Joy and Learning New Things…will you join me?
Organizer
Pj McGuire
Organizer
Chicago, IL
