Dominic Luckino

“5…4…3…2…1,” the announcer yelled before my team charged into the cold waters of Lake Acworth on a frigid February day. My body stiffened, mouth agape as I verbally shuddered. The water chilled to the bone; each movement felt slow and painful. Every small motion felt colder as I treaded deeper into the water. Each breath felt labored and difficult. I would need to spend another 3 minutes here. But as I looked upon the juxtaposed smiling faces of my team in the frigid waters, I could not help but smile, too. We raised nearly $10,000 this year for the Georgia Special Olympics. Making it our second year and contributing to a total of $20,000 raised. We were the fourth-highest-raising team at the event—the annual polar plunge for the Georgia Special Olympics. I had spent two years building this team from scratch and operating with my school to help fund my team. Spending months getting companies to sponsor us, getting new teammates to raise money, and getting our names out into the community. Compared to all of that struggle, jumping into a frozen lake was child’s play for the Frozen Horns. Most teams only enter the lake for a minute, with most members leaving in the first 30 seconds. But for both years, my team has remained in the water for the maximum time allowed, which is 3 minutes. Everyone on the shore saw all 15 of us jumping around and laughing in the sub-zero climate. When we finally emerged, we were shouting, laughing, and dashing toward the blanket and hotdog stand.