My heart pounded as my hair caught the wind like a kite and swirled softly behind me. I placed my two feet firmly on the floor and forced my fearful figure to a standing position. Though my body was chilled, sweat oozed from the palms of my hands, leaving every object I held susceptible to a slimy slide out of my grip, ending with a clank onto the cold metal floor. The sun’s glare blinded my eyes, dilated with fear. A stinging red pain left tears in my eyes and nervousness in my heart. I guess this is it. I peered over the edge.

The wind continued to billow my hair like a flag in the afternoon sky. Staring over the edge, I spotted the ground, too far below for me to register any sort of fear yet, my knees continued to knock like drums in the sky. A bead of sweat was birthed at my hairline; I sensed each twist and turn as it meandered down my face and dropped over the edge, never to be seen again. I swung my arms out into the open sky; my legs were soon to follow. Three. This is it. Two. I can’t believe I’m doing this. One.

I jumped, into the air, into the unknown. But, I wasn’t falling; I was flying. The wind whipped my hair, my ears flapped, my skin danced, my mind opened, my life lived. The thrill, the utter thrill of falling, feeling nothing but gravity, evicted a pure joy from my solemn soul. Feeling everything, feeling nothing. Being so engrossed in the moment, fastened in the present, I fell happily toward the earth.

I forgot about my problems. All trivial matters disappeared from my consciousness. It was me and the air, me and the moment, me and the sky. This is what living feels like. Every cell of my being released each endorphin and a surge of unmasked bliss tsunamied over my body. The high was nothing I’ve ever experienced before: high on life. I smiled. I smiled so big the wind blew my cheeks up like a balloon. I smiled so hard I almost passed out. I smiled.

As I neared the Earth, I knew my flight was nearing its end. I looked to my left. I looked to my right. The ground focused. It’ll all be over soon. Gone, just like that. I took a deep breath in. Oxygen snaked its way through my lungs and adrenaline careened through my heart. I didn’t want to forget this. There’s nothing more exciting than to feel everything at the same time, to be both scared and happy, to be both terrified and thrilled, to be both hilarious and focused. That feeling of pure bliss, pure happiness, pure joy, to be in that moment, that is something that we all need in our lives. Depressed that the moment had arrived, I waved my arms overhead, reached behind me, and pulled the cord.

I counted down: Five, Four, Three, Tw— and my parachute flew open, catching me, saving me. Yet, it tortured me because even though I was alive, I was safe. I didn’t want that feeling to disappear: that bliss, that freedom, that fear, that everything. Life isn’t lived in the future, nor the past. Life is lived in the present, and sometimes we forget that. We don’t have to go skydiving to embrace the present; we don’t even have to get an adrenaline rush. Doing something you're passionate about will suffice because all we need to do is live in the now. Don’t freak out about the future because it hasn’t happened yet and, don’t rue on the past because you can’t change it. Live right here, right now, and I promise: life will seem a little better.