For years, I had always thought about what it would be like to do something as crazy and spontaneous as skydiving, to finally check off one of the biggest things on my bucket list. After putting it off time and time again, I finally decided to act on it.
On the morning of my 18th birthday, somewhat to my surprise, I opened an envelope to discover an official document stating that I would be skydiving on the afternoon of June 7th. I could hardly contain my excitement as the reality of it all set in. I was actually going skydiving, something that I had once only just dreamed of doing.
The month between my birthday and June 7th held excitement and anxiety beyond what I've ever experienced before. Questions filled my head, wondering what it would be like to actually free-fall out of a plane or whether I would have the actual guts to do it when the moment came for me to jump.
I waited and waited and waited.
Before I could barely wait any longer, June 7th had arrived. My emotions and thoughts were scattered out of control and the hours ticked away until there were moments left before I needed to get on the plane with the few other nervous passengers.
The plane was very small. Had I not been securely attached to the tandem professional behind me, there was a good chance that I would have fainted by then. We positioned ourselves on the tiny bleacher-style seating and, shortly after, we were angled up towards the clouds.
Whenever I thought that we would level off and prepare to finally jump, the plane continued to go higher, higher, and higher. Just when I was prepared to ask to stay inside of the plane and head back to the ground the normal way, the pilot yelled out that it was time.
The tandem guy behind me pushed me towards the tiny door that opened on the side of the plane and looked at me for my final nod of confirmation. With that, there was no turning back.
"Three...two...one...jump!"
With that, we were off. We were free-falling with nothing but the ground beneath us, waiting to be touched by our eager feet as we plummeted down at 120 mph. To say that I was awestruck would be an understatement. It was one of those moments that is hard to explain in the perfect way unless you've lived through it yourself.
As terrified as I was prior to the jump, all my nerves escaped me as I surrounded myself with just the cold air of the clouds and natural atmosphere. There was a sort of peaceful silence that I wasn't expecting either when I came to my senses and realized how small I felt in this huge, gorgeous world that we live in.
What an amazing feeling that was, to be so empowered by the Earth in all its natural beauty. It makes you feel lonely, yet comforted by the idea of just being alone.
So, as terrified as I was prior to the jump, I will always be grateful and never regretful. I will never regret overcoming what I once thought was inevitable, experiencing something that I never expected to in the first place, and finally saying "no" to what was holding me back. I chose to say "yes" to the possibilities ahead. I chose to jump without fear of failing, instead enjoying the fall for all that it was worth.
