When someone asks you to jump out of a plane and fall 11 000 feet to the ground, Im assuming that the general reaction would be “not a chance.” Well lucky me, I was asked to do exactly that. The only difference is, I was asked by my sister, one of the people on this planet that I would do anything for.
The thought of skydiving had crossed my mind a couple times before, but it wasn’t until the moment I put my legs into the purple skydiving suit that I realized it was really happening. There is nothing quite like the feeling of approaching a plane and releasing your feet off the earth. As I stepped onto the baking plane, I was filled with an overwhelming mixture of spine chilling fear and heart pounding excitement. It’s a strange and somewhat uncomfortable feeling to have because parts of me wanted to get out and run whilst I forced myself to stay seated. As the engine started and the plane begun to glide upwards, an uncontrollable roll of swear words fell out my mouth.
Being strapped to the tandem instructor was about the only reassuring feeling I felt. My sister was ready to go. Her instructor had positioned them in front of the door. There were professionals to go after them and then we were next. As we reached our 11 0000 feet mark, I expected everyone to kind of hang around for a few minutes and chat about how we were all feeling. That of course did not happen. It wasn’t even as I had finished putting my goggles on that I felt a breeze so cold, my face froze in its terrified expression. I honestly have never been so scared in my life. I forgot to mention that at this point my sister had already jumped. I wanted so badly to chicken out. The only reason why I didn’t was because I couldn’t string the words together.
The moment arrived. We were positioned on the edge. Door open, ready to jump. I had no control over when that moment would come. All it would take was for the instructor to let go and the force pull us out. I had planned to keep my eyes closed the whole way down. This is not how it happened. In fact, the feeling of being sucked outwards and free falling through the atmosphere somehow brought my mind, body and soul together. My eyes were open every second and I saw absolutely everything. It was the most liberating feeling.
I can remember when the parachute opened. I was so taken by what had just happened and what I was seeing below me. I’ve flown in planes before, but the view from the top is just so much better when you are really flying. For the first time in my life I knew how athletes feel when they break world records. My heart was racing so fast that when we touched down on the landing strip, I was literally speechless. It all happened so fast but it was as if I was caught, just for a few seconds, in a moment in time. It was the day that I felt the controlling yet rushing feeling of an adrenaline high.
The fear that had piled up was worth every minute of stress. Having nothing to support your weight brings a new perspective on life. Being between space and earth is a surreal feeling, a feeling that will be cherished forever.
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