Last summer I did something that I never thought I'd do, and it terrified me.

It was in June of 2015 and my then-boyfriend, now my grade-A stud and husband, was currently on deployment in southern Germany for nine months. He had been gone since March of that same year, and as you can imagine I was missing him quite terribly. That's code for "a daily meltdown 'Sleeping Beauty style.'"

During the month of July, he had some down time so I decided to fly out to see him for five weeks. We spent the entirety of my visit traveling. Italy, Berlin, the Czech Republic, and Austria were on the itinerary for our month together.

Since I was young, I have always had this fairytale, dream European vacation perfectly pictured in my head. I had built my expectation on the foundation of childhood chick flicks that romanticized places like Rome and London—shoutout to "The Lizzie McGuire Movie" and "What a Girl Wants." And while Rome is absolutely beautiful, and equally as romantic, it was not the highlight of my trip with Chase at all. I can tell you that the Czech Republic was never part of that original vision, but it gave me an experience that changed my life.

Halfway through our trip, Chase told me that he was invited to participate in a weekend of static line skydiving with representatives from the military's of several different countries. It was going to take place in a small rural area of the Czech Republic, right outside of Prague. Now, originally we had planned to spend the weekend in France. I know what you're thinking. "Czech Republic over Paris makes sense in what world?" But one look at his eager face, and I found myself genuinely excited for an unexpected adventure. If my husband is one thing, it's adventurous, so if he thought this would pail out to be a memorable weekend, no one in their right mind should ever say no.

We made it a road trip and took advantage of the Autobahn—can you say 130 MPH?—and arrived in what looked like a post-apocalyptic town in record time. After some careful map examinations, expensive data usage, and help from the spirit of Sacajawea we found our hotel and I settled in for the afternoon, while Chase headed off to the airfield for some training.

I think I was in between naps when I received a text from him that read:

"I think I can get you on to skydive tomorrow. You in?"

Now considering heights are one of my big five fears (along with snakes, sharks, serial killers, and spiders), I don't think I could honestly tell someone what possessed me to agree to jumping out of a plane at 13,000 feet. But I did agree.

The next morning, we headed out to the airfield together, and I would be jumping with the first group of the day. A man with a thick Czech accent gathered me and two other women into a room to suit up and begin our instruction. Now I don't know if the Czechs don't believe in personal safety or maybe he wins a bet if one of us injures ourselves, but our course lasted no more than two full minutes, and it was off to board the plane.

I can tell you now, having been through the experience and making it out alive, that the worst part of the whole ordeal was the ascent to 13,000 feet. You sit and watch the world grow smaller and smaller, and slowly the clouds descend far below you. Suddenly, our instructor yelled something in Czech I could not understand and threw the door of the rinky-dink plane open. As I watched people disappear out the side of the aircraft, I simultaneously wanted to pee my pants and pass out—both of which I was hoping would disqualify me from jumping.

The only reason I made it out of the plane was because I was strapped to the largest Czech I have ever seen in my life: George,, my man! But you know what the funny thing was? Once I was out of the plane, I wasn't scared at all. Not one bit. As a person who is terrified of heights, looking down at the world from 13,000 feet and not feeling an bit of fear is the most freeing thing that I have ever experienced.

As anticipated by everyone but myself, who thought I would end up a giant grease spot, I landed safely on the ground, with a runny nose and a body chocked full of adrenaline. Yes, most of the adrenaline was from falling from thousands of feet above the ground, but I have to believe that some of it came from the realization that I had conquered one of my biggest fears.

Since then I have remembered the amazing rush that I had from my skydiving trip, and how if I had stayed in my comfort zone I never would have made the jump. I made a conscious decision not to rule out the things that scare me. Because of that I have been able to take on wonderful but tough things with Chase. One of which we accomplished together in Austria: mountain climbing! Yes, acrophobia girl was able to make her way to the top of a mountain.

I would recommend that everyone do something that terrifies them, at least once. Sure, if you're one of those people who isn't afraid of anything and base jumping from the top of Half Dome sounds like a fun idea, then more power to you. But if you are a mere mortal like myself, then believe me when I tell you that it will open so many more doors for you. Doors that you would have never thought to open before. Its empowering and exciting! It will leave you hungry for more.

Give it a try. I dare you.