And so naturally, I've backed out of the opportunity twice. To be fair though, I was supposed to go with a group of friends both times, and they all backed out at the last minute. Skydiving is not the type of thing you want to do alone. You want to be able to look at your best friend sitting there next to you, hold their hand, stare at them straight in the eye and know collectively that if something happens to go wrong, at least you both are shit out of luck together.
So I guess it's not really waiting for the right time that's important, it's having the right person to do it with. And of course, I have a crazy, wild, spontaneous, free-spirited friend named Yarden that pushed me to make this jump, pun intended.
It started with an impromptu road trip to Canada. We talked about the possibility of skydiving, which I figured just wouldn't happen. In fact, I didn't really want it to happen. It's like one of those things where the more you think about it, the more uneasy it makes you feel, and then the less you want to do it. So we just agreed that we'd try to find a place on the ride back from Toronto, and I kept the possibility in the back of my mind.
Flash forward to our ride home, and we end up stopping at a skydiving center near Niagra Falls. We're talking to the lady at the reception desk, and she lets us know that yes, even though its 2:00 in the afternoon and they have a lot of people scheduled to jump for the day and it's their last day of the season, they can still fit us in for the next hour.
Fuck.
Some family members of people that jumped earlier in the day walk in as we're handing our cards to the receptionist to pay.
"Are you guys going to jump?" asks one of the ladies.
"Apparently," I say as I get my receipt back. "We've paid already, so I guess we made our choice."
We sit down and watch a short safety video for 10 minutes, but my anxiety is on the rise and focusing on anything is nearly impossible. I feel like this is going to be some kind of a joke and it's not really going to happen. Yarden has jumped twice before, and she tells me how amazing it is, but still, the thought of me jumping out of a plane within the next hour just seems surreal to me.
We're led into this sort of warehouse looking place and get suited up. They give us tips on what we need to do when we're in the air. The instructors tell us that they will tap us on the shoulder during the free fall and we need to spread our arms and legs out like an eagle. They get their go pros ready and start filming us and whatnot.
And it's getting way too real.
We walk outside to the little prop plane. Yarden and I hug before crawling into the little plane, and I think to myself how much I love and hate this crazy chicka at the same time for getting me to do this.
The plane ride itself was surprisingly calm. I think being able to see the beauty of the Niagra falls from the plane window sort of put me in a good mindset. I felt at peace. I'm already in the plane. Whatever happens is going to happen, and I have no choice but to roll with it. I look over at Yarden, and despite the fact that she's done this twice before, she has her eyes closed and her hands together like she's praying. She looks way less calm. I guess this isn't something you get used to?
So yeah, if you ever have the choice to jump first, definitely do that.
So now I am no longer at peace, I'm a fucking jittery mess. My palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy. There's not vomit yet, but that can change because soon I'll be sucked into another dimension as well. We're already climbing towards the open door, and I feel like this is a really bad dream. This can't be real. Who the fuck would choose to do this?!
I put my foot on the wing of the plane just like my instructor tells me to. He yells in my ear, "You ready?" to which I reply, "NO" but of course by that time he had let go of the plane and we had begun to fall.
And it was so incredible.
I forgot that the instructor was supposed to tap you on the shoulder and then you need to do that spread eagle pose, so instead I just went into the eagle pose which caused us to flip upside down. The first thing I saw was the sky and then I saw the world as I was floating down.
That's what the free fall feels like. It's like you're floating. I know you're moving really fast, but it doesn't feel like it at the time. There's something truly profound about being able to be in the sky with your arms and legs stretched out, and you're looking at the beautiful world around you from a different perspective, and all you can do is laugh and smile because you feel so free. I know it sounds corny, but it's true. It's not like a roller coaster or anything like that where you have something there to hold on to or keep you secure. But at the same time it's not scary or intimidating. It just feels right.
After about 45 seconds the instructor pulls the parachute and we get pulled upwards. My ears begin to hurt and I really can't hear anything, but it doesn't matter because I'm so happy. There's tears in my eyes, and I look at the camera and wave. The instructor gives me the handles of the parachute and lets me steer left and right.
The landing was actually the scariest part, just because even with the parachute, you hit the ground kind of fast. You're supposed to put your legs up so they don't hit the ground, but naturally I never do what I'm supposed to do, so my ankle kind of took some of the impact, which wasn't very pleasant. But there were no injuries, and we both walked out of the skydive center unscathed and full of adrenaline and pure happiness.
So, my consensus is that everyone should try skydiving, at least once. It was probably one of the most uncomfortable and crazy experiences of my life, and yet if I have the chance to do it again, I surely will. I think it's important for people to do it: to get out of their comfort zone, to see the world from a different perspective, and most importantly, to prove to yourself that you can be the bravest person you know.
But definitely go with a friend. Its an experience that deserves to be shared.
