The Dive of My Life

By: Breana Ross

 

It was midway through summer when I decided I was going to take “the jump”, both literally and figuratively. I had spent the past school year having a midlife crisis about if I was going down the right career path. I felt like I no longer knew my purpose and I was running through a list of things I could do with my degree that were practical and lucrative but they weren’t my dream. I realized It wasn’t that I didn’t want to be a journalist. It was that I was afraid of jumping into a career that was uncertain. I was afraid of the unknown and I was letting fear drive me away from my dream. Once I realized this, I vowed to not let fear hinder me anymore. I was going to chase my dream with full force. I was going to be fearless. Which leads me to skydiving, I had always wanted to skydive. It was on my bucket list. But I was afraid to actually do it. One night in bible study my cousin told me she was going skydiving for her birthday and invited me to come. I remembered the vow I had made to myself and immediately said, “I’ll go.”  This would be a symbolic new beginning of my life without fear.

To make a long story short, my skydiving adventure was postponed twice because of weather conditions.  By the end of the summer, it was time for me to return to school in Florida and I still had not gotten to go skydiving.  I didn’t think I would be able to do it at all anymore….but then Hurricane Irma happened.  Now, I’m not suggesting that Hurricane Irma was a positive circumstance for me or anyone else by any stretch of the imagination, but it did allow me to be back at home on the exact weekend my cousins had rescheduled our skydiving adventure!  I signed up the day before and attempted to mentally prepare myself once again.

The night before the dive I barely slept.  I laid awake in my bed for hours, staring at the ceiling and imagining myself jumping out of a plane.  I started watching any YouTube videos I could find of people skydiving.  I was nervous, anxious, and giddy with excitement.  I was actually doing this.  I wasn’t going to let fear stop me.

The morning of my skydive my mom and I listened to gospel music the whole ride to the place (because what could go wrong when you start your day with some gospel).  We arrived at the place and signed some forms (which essentially read, “If you die, and you may, we’re not responsible or liable in any way”) and geared up to dive.  I was introduced to the diver to whom I’d be attached and I wasted no time getting to know him and his skillset. “I hope you’re ready to chat,” I said. He laughed (I’m not sure why because I was perfectly serious) then replied, “What would you like to talk about?”

Me: “How long have you been doing this.”

Him: “It’s my first day actually.”

Me: I smiled wide hoping he’d say he was joking.

Him: “But I’ve been on about 3,000 dives around the world.”

Me: I breathed a sigh of relief “Do you have a wife, kids, people to come to?”

Him: “A wife no kids.”

I figured I’d interrogated him enough so I told him I was ready and we headed towards the plane.  He was particularly keen on capturing the moments leading up to the dive on video so, of course, we wound up being the last pair on the plane, which meant we’d be the first to dive.

The plane ride was kind of a blur. I remember looking out of the window wondering when the plane would stop going up higher and higher.  We reached 11,000 feet, I believe, before my partner strapped me to him.  For some reason I felt the need to ask, “You have the parachute right?”  I now realize that this didn’t make sense because if he didn’t (he did), it was too late anyway.  He replied, “I think so.  Sometimes I grab the laundry bag by accident.”  I didn’t find this funny.

My heart stopped a bit when he opened the door to the plane.  It stopped again when we slid to the edge, our feet dangling 11,000 feet in the air.  Then before I could turn back, we slid off of the edge, flipped a few times in the air, and we were gliding.  It was a feeling I’ve never felt before, pure bliss.  The feeling that death could be near but it doesn’t matter because you feel so free.  I remember the wind slapping me in my face and flailing my mouth open, flipping in the air, then being yanked by a parachute.  We slowly started to descend.  I was ready to get down at this point.  My instructor had trouble steering the parachute against the wind but tried to point out the sights to distract me (it didn’t work).  We were close to landing and we were headed for the parking lot, not the grass.  My mother screamed as we descended.  She watched everyone else land in the grass and her daughter was headed for the concrete.  We did land on the concrete, but it’s ok!  I’m still alive and well, still kicking!  When I landed, I felt like I could conquer anything.  I had conquered fear and experienced one of the greatest wonders of the world: flying!  I am now ready to dive and fly in every other aspect of my life.

 

P.S. I’ve included the video of me skydiving for your enjoyment 🙂