Day 85: Surf

What's the challenge?

To do crowdsurfing.

What are you afraid of?

I'm afraid of no one holding me and falling down.

How was the experience?

Crowdsurfing is something I had on my list since the very beginning but never thought I’d be able to do it - neither was I in a hurry to do it since I was so afraid of it. But last week, my brother helped me get in contact with my favorite Venezuelan band, Los Amigos Invisibles, to ask them if I could face my fear at their concert in NYC. To my surprise, they were extremely excited about my project and with the idea of collaborating with a fellow Venezuelan. So the day arrived and my nerves were over the top. I was not only going to be doing crowdsurfing at an amazing concert, but also being backstage with this awesomely cool band and then be introduced by them standing on the stage in front of thousands of people. So when the moment came, they introduced me as the Venezuelan facing 100 fears and asked the audience for their help in conquering my fear. The fans went crazy and eager to holding me, so I immediately turned my fear into excitement and went for it! It was the best experience EVER! I didn't want it to end, but when it did, I stayed on the stage and danced like crazy for 30 seconds or so! I must say, this was one of my favorite challenges so far. I got to meet the whole crew, hang out with them and hear their amazing concert from backstage. I’m so thankful with the band, you guys rock!!!!!! Proud to be Venezuelan and to know that there's an amazing Venezuelan community out there supporting our national talent.

Day 84: Never Again

What's the challenge?

To visit the Holocaust Memorial Museum in DC, and face once again the cruel reality my family and 6 other million Jews went through during WWII.

What are you afraid of?

Every Jewish individual is afraid of having this chapter being repeated in history, that's why we must never forget.

How was the experience?

Since I was a little girl, I've been living everyday of my life scared of something like the holocaust happening again due to the latent antisemitism around the world. I've had horrible nightmares where Nazis come to my house and separate me from my family. I've been hearing all kinds of stories since I was very little. I lost most of my family in concentration camps and the only reason I even exist is because my grandparents escaped the camp with my 5 year-old uncle in hands and traveled all the way to Venezuela where they gave birth to my mom years after. My dad's family has a different story where they had to hide for years in a convent until they were able to run off to Panama. Why so much hate against one religion? A question I'll never be able to answer. But going through the museum and learning more and more about what happened during WWII, only made me realize that I am extremely lucky to be having the life that I have, where I face my fears as an option to fully enjoy life, not as an obligation to stay alive. The only thing I can do about the holocaust is to never forget where I come from, celebrate the fact that we have the state of Israel to defend us and guard us, and let the rest of the world know what happened so it won't ever happen again #neveragain

Day 83: Explore

What's the challenge?

To explore and spend the night by myself in a new city.

What are you afraid of?

Loneliness.

How was the experience?

In the past 83 days I prepared myself to conquer this challenge. I did many activities alone in NY and now I feel ready to travel and put everything I learned into action! So, I bought my Amtrak ticket to Washington, one of the few cities where I have no family or friends to go to. I was 50% excited about getting to know a new city and 50% terrified to face this huge fear by myself! What made me even more scared, was the fact that due to small conferences around the city, there were no hotels available for that night, so I had to do couch-surfing the old-fashion way (call a friend of a friend of a friend and ask for her couch)! Anyways, I arrived to Washington and never in my life I felt so alone. For the first time, there was no one expecting me, no one to call, no one to have lunch or dinner with. I had two options, 1) start crying and go back to NY like my instinct was telling me to do, or 2) find a nice place to have lunch by myself and start museum-hopping like I planned to! So, I went with the latter, and immediately I started to enjoy my day. I had an amazing time in Washington, felt pretty safe over there and can't wait to go back (with my hubby). I'm extremely proud of myself, and even though I don't have the loner personality and I much rather spend time with others, I realized that I can still have fun when I'm with myself. One less thing I'm afraid of!

Day 82: Hike

What's the challenge?

To go hiking.

What are you afraid of?

Not being comfortable surrounded by nature, bugs, animals and who knows what is in the woods. The unknown.

How was the experience?

I used to go hiking a lot back in Venezuela with my dad when I was a kid. As I was growing up I became more conscious about the surroundings and started to be afraid of it. On top of that, Venezuela has gotten very dangerous since then, adding the fear of getting robbed or kidnapped while hiking. This past weekend, I decided to face my fear and go hiking in the Catskills (Upstate NY). At the beginning, I was extremely aware of every sound, movement and living creature around us. As we got deeper into the woods I started to make peace with the fact that I was in the middle of nowhere and that I should embrace it and try to relax. So I did. That's when we came across the beautiful waterfall and I got to fully enjoy that moment.  I then realized how much I missed nature by living in the city and how important it is for a person's life and balance. It also made me realize how much I miss my country and that I would love to go back someday and go hiking with my dad again. Oh well, that's a whole new fear; fear of not getting my country back from the hands of tyranny.

Day 81: Listen

What's the challenge?

To allow Periscope App users to make decisions for me during one full day, from what to do to what to eat, drink and wear.

What are you afraid of?

I'm afraid of letting go control and not being able to make the choices I want.

How was the experience?

Periscope is a live-streaming app in which anybody can see you through your phone camera and interact with you through txt messages. I allowed my Periscope followers to make every single decision during my day. To my surprise, they were all extremely sweet and helpful. Someone had the great idea of sending me to Brooklyn on a boat, which was the best plan ever! They helped me choose my outfit for the day and for the night, they told me how to do my make-up, what to order at a restaurant and what to have for dessert. I learned that Starbucks has a secret menu which was fantastic! I tried a drink that otherwise I would've never ordered at Dylan's Candy Bar, and loved it. I even ended up getting all wet and jumping into a fountain which was the best idea ever at the end. So, yes, I was pretty scared to let others make decisions for me but, turns out it could be pretty amazing to let go control and leave the decision-making part to others sometimes! I'll keep using the app in this way, I enjoyed my day 100%. Thank you so much to everybody that participated!!!!

Day 80: Teach

What's the challenge?

To teach a Zumba class.

What are you afraid of?

Making a fool of myself.

How was the experience?

Ever since I started going to Zumba classes, I would practice in front of my mirror imagining that I had a big crowd following my steps. But, when I thought about actually becoming a part-time Zumba instructor I would discourage myself by thinking I could never memorize a routine or that I don't have what it takes. So this time I decided to face this fear and lead a real Zumba class for a couple of songs. I was extremely nervous to screw up and confuse the students with the steps. So, I put on my Thync device to get all the energy I was looking for, I wore my Zumba Wear to help with my moves and I practiced different steps all day long to get it right. Once there, my anxiety levels went up, but as soon as the class started, the energy was soooo amazing that I started to enjoy every moment of it. There were about 100 people following my steps, plus an audience watching the event! It was just great. The actual instructor, Idania Gonzalez from the Z Club NY, was extraordinary! I want to go to all of her classes from now on! Thank you Zumba team for letting me be part of this fun event!!! Once I gain some resistance I'll reconsider my dream of becoming an instructor. For now, I need to start exercising again.

Thank you Daniel Poler for recording and editing this amazing video <3

Day 79: Apply

What's the challenge?

To go job hunting in New York City.

What are you afraid of?

This city is extremely competitive so I'm afraid of not being good enough for the brands I'd love to work with. Hence, I'm afraid of rejection.

How was the experience?

A couple weeks ago I decided to leave my Art Director's position at Y&R to fully dedicate myself to my thesis and my 100 day project. Last week, I graduated from my masters in branding and I'm now 100% jobless! The real reason why I left my job is because I want to find a place where I can solve bigger branding issues than what advertising can solve. I want to be able to reposition a brand like I did with McDonald's for my thesis (but in the real world). I want to expand a brand's audience, or launch a new product/line/sub-brand. I want to brand a company from scratch, give it meaning, purpose, personality and a bigger reason for people to resonate with it. I want to bring stories to life using relevant content. I want to create long-lasting relationships between brands and people through experiences. Most importantly, I want to enjoy everyday at my future job and feel proud of the company I will work for. So, I decided to face my fear and go personally to drop off my resume at the companies I now dream of working for. Lesson of the day: don't even bother going to these companies unless you know someone in there. Luckily, I had one friend in Google and one in Buzzfeed; that's when I realized that I need more friends in the city! Wanna chat? Oh well, I'll be submitting my resume online to every single cool place in NY (and crossing my fingers) #hireme >> info@michellepoler.com

Day 78: Paint

What's the challenge?

To bodypaint a man.

What are you afraid of?

Being in an extremely awkward situation. Also, I'm afraid of doing a mess instead of an art work, I haven't touched a paintbrush in years.

How was the experience?

When I knew about Bodypainting Day I knew I had to face a fear during that amazing event. I thought about letting someone else paint my body but then I did the drawing class challenge, so in order to switch things around I volunteered to paint another human being. I randomly got a 75 year-old man as a model, fortunately he is also an amazing photographer and artist. So, I bought a make-up brush and covered him all in white paint first. I must admit, it was pretty awkward to paint naked guy, mostly while my husband, my brother and my in-laws are watching! But I did it in the most professional way and even enjoyed the experience way more than I thought! I think that you have to be pretty bold and #fearless in order to take off your clothes and show your body to the media and the whole world like that, so I wrote the word Fearless across his body and then, I added my logo to his back :) He seemed happy with his cool typography and he definitely stood out from the rest of the art. Thank you J. Wayne for letting me body-paint you!

Thank you Daniel for filming and editing this fun experience!

Day 77: Pose

What's the challenge?

To pose nude in front of a drawing class at the New York Academy of Art.

What are you afraid of?

Afraid of exposing my body completely, judgement, embarrassment.

How was the experience?

When my friend suggested this challenge I thought she was crazy and I did not consider it. But, when you've faced 76 fears already, I think it's time to open your mind a little and say: f*ck it! Let's do it! I was extremely nervous about this one as you can imagine, so once I was standing on the stage I immediately turned around, faced the wall and let my robe slip down revealing my body. I stayed in that position for 5 minutes until I was confident enough to turn around and face the artists for my second pose. I was so nervous I couldn't even look at the people drawing me. Finally, I sat down for my 3rd pose and fell a bit more empowered and comfortable as I realized that I was inspiring artists to create beautiful drawings. By then, I was completely in character so I laid down for my last pose. After seeing all the drawings I got to appreciate the value of being a nude model. They were all unique and way too beautiful in their own way.

Big thanks to the academy for allowing me to face my fear and being so professional about it!!!!

Day 76: Present

What's the challenge?

To present my thesis in front of a huge crowd.

What are you afraid of?

I'm afraid of screwing up, letting my teammates down, letting myself down.

How was the experience?

A year ago I moved to NYC to start my masters in Branding at SVA. I did everything in my power to get into this program of 29 people and I was determined to give my 100% everyday. I knew that in the last day of the program I had to present my thesis. I went last year to watch the previous class present and I was fine with that idea. On June 1st I started working with my thesis team on re-positioning McDonald's, a brand that has fallen out of pace with culture. For 6 weeks, we worked day and night on a plan to bring McDonald's back to the top and created an amazing presentation. The day arrived and my anxiety was eating me alive. I'm not very good at memorizing lines, but when English is not your first language you better learn word by word to make sure the vocabulary is right. I was more nervous than ever before, I only had one chance to get my presentation right and I wanted to make everyone proud, mostly myself. Out of the 76 fears I've faced so far, this was the scariest one. When I started presenting my heart was about to jump off my chest and my voice was a bit shaky at first. But then, I realized that it was up to me to own the stage and the moment. Words and thoughts started to align and I delivered my ideas the way I wanted to. I'm proud of myself and my teammates! I would totally do it all over again. Bye, bye school, thank you for the best year of my life so far.

Special thanks to my brother for filming and editing this once in a lifetime experience.

Day 75: Coexist

What's the challenge?

To live alone with my brother for two weeks.

What are you afraid of?

I'm afraid to not tolerate him anymore after the first 2 hours.

How was the experience?

Daniel and I are 4 years apart, I'm obviously the oldest sister and he's the "little" brother. We've never had a smooth relationship, we normally disagree in pretty much everything. I want to be closer to him but for some reason it is extremely hard for me to relax when he is around. I try to micromanage everything he does and I get very mad when he screws up. I think that we are so similar that I have a hard time accepting his imperfections, in this case, my imperfections as well. 10 days ago my husband had to travel for 2 weeks, so I suggested that Daniel should move in with me while Adam is away. We've been living together for 11 days now and it hasn't been that bad. I've been trying to trust him a bit more and have some brother-sister fun. Plus, he is amazing at filming and editing so I've been learning new tricks and he's been helping me with my videos (yay!). Even though I've been enjoying having him around, he needs to find a job and pay his own rent, so please hire him!!! Check out his work here!

Day 74: Interview

What's the challenge?

To interview random people and ask them about their biggest fear.

What are you afraid of?

Rejection, embarrassment.

How was the experience?

This 4th of July I went to see the fireworks at The Gorbals, a really cool rooftop in Williamsburg but I only knew 3 people there. I wanted to meet new people but I had no idea where to start so I decided to do it by facing my interview fear. It was definitely awkward to suddenly break the ice with people I do not know and ask them a big question like: what are you afraid of? But I ended up meeting so many new people from all different backgrounds and I had the best time. Talking to strangers is completely outside of my comfort zone so I will have to do it more often until I get comfortable at it!

Day 73: Bargain

What's the challenge?

To ask for a better price at a flea market.

What are you afraid of?

I'm afraid of people saying 'No'.

How was the experience?

I'm extremely bad at asking for things in general, mostly when it comes to shopping. I'm terrible at bargaining. So my brother and my mom challenged me to do this one since they know me too well. We went to Brooklyn Flea and the deal was this: you can't buy unless they reduce the price for you. No one wanted to reduce their prices!!! Either this was not the right place to do that or I am extremely bad at it... I think I'm the worst at it! I finally was able to get 5 soaps for $10 instead of 4 like the initial offer the store had, and that made me super happy!!!! Thank you Nuesi Soaps!! Then, I asked to get 2 cookies for $3 instead of $4 and I got that too (plus, they were delicious)! I think I may be getting good at bargaining. The best thing I got was a fan who recognized me and took a picture with me :)

PS: Special thanks to my brother who is recording and editing my videos while I'm busy working on my thesis for my masters at SVA. Check out all of his amazing work here.

Day 72: Embrace

What's the challenge?

To walk around New York wearing only my bikini.

What are you afraid of?

Criticism and feeling extremely uncomfortable.

How was the experience?

A couple weeks ago I was at Union Square and I had an encounter with this guy that moves around NY "spreading love." Suddenly, he asked me to take my clothes off and face my fear. I took my sweater off and that's it, I couldn't keep going. I was extremely self-conscious thinking about 100 reasons why I just couldn't take my clothes off even though I knew it was the perfect opportunity to face a spontaneous fear right there. For two weeks I thought about that moment everyday and kept making excuses in my mind not to do it. I thought I was afraid of criticism, until I realized that no one will ever criticize me as harsh as I criticize myself, and that is extremely sad. That moment, I decided to ignore every possible negative thought I could have about my body, go back to Union Square where this started and walk around feeling confident about myself! At first, it was super intimidating since I was the only one in a bikini, but then, I cleared my mind and got to enjoy the beautiful weather. People actually started embracing my initiative and my bravery - something I was not expecting! My biggest inspiration to do it was the thought that no one is truly perfect, but we are all beautiful just the way we are and if we learn to love ourselves we will inspire others to do the same. 

Day 71: Cross

What's the challenge?

To cross from one subway car to the other.

What are you afraid of?

Things going wrong! Or, a fine.

How was the experience?

This is something I wrote in my list, took it off, wrote it again and then, took it off. But today I was in the subway with my brother and when I told him about the fear he encouraged me to go for it and he even did it with me. I was extremely nervous to do it while the subway was moving and going fast from Manhattan to Brooklyn but I went for it! I'm glad I did it, it wasn't too bad and now I'm confident I can do one more thing that I thought to be way too dangerous. 
PS: Don't know if you can tell this – since my editing skills have been improving ;) but, this really cool video was shot and edited by my brother Daniel, who just graduated from SCAD in the Film Major. So take a look at his amazing work here. He's the reason why I kinda know how to edit in the first place! Thank you Dani and happy birthday!