Skydiving

Falling from the sky at a velocity of 123 miles per hour, wind thrashing through your hair and almost seeping through your body, would give anyone at least a little bit of a thrill. Quite an amazing understatement. The rushing thrill of chemicals that electrify the body jolts every sensation while plummeting to the earth. Skydiving was a supreme flying adventure; no thrill ever felt like this before.

The air unraveled every inch of my body, pulling me towards the shady miniature earth below. The extremity of this moment pumped a rush of endorphins throughout my body. The air swallowed me up like a delicious sweet long-awaited to savor, gulping me up in haste. Descending at a rapid average of 113 mph, anyone would feel the breath of the sky wrapped around your body.

My adventure with skydiving was to discover and defy gravity. I was flying – okay, or falling – but the free-fall was an overwhelming physical and emotional experience.

Wright Brothers Skydiving provided me the means of this crazy adventure. I was very impressed by their professionalism. They only allowed people to jump tandem, with an instructor attached, the first three times. This was a safety precaution so that the inexperienced diver learns and grows comfortable with solo jumping.

Jeff Trembly was my instructor and the maniac who I'd be jumping tandem with, and throughout our decent I would be attached to his stomach pack by my looped straps. On the ground before the jump, Jeff was a bundle of energy, bouncing around the room teaching short classes to other eager jumpers on how to skydive. Jeff was a superb instructor. I felt comfortable signing my life away for a few brief airborne moments, because of his experience and confidence with skydiving. He loved his weekend gig as a skydiving instructor, and it shined through in his demeanor.

On the ground the garage-like area was filled with high energy, from eager people waiting their turn to jump and divers that had just jumped. I paced around anxiously, yet upholding an image of a relaxed, experienced diver, even though I was scared since it was my first skydive. I was up next, and I prepared myself as much as one can prepare for this insane endeavor. I slipped into a bright yellow, full-body jumpsuit, feeling like a bumblebee that would soon be buzzing around in the sky.

"All right girl, are you ready?!" Jeff asked with a tone of excitement.

"I was born to skydive," I responded with underlying reservations, which I tucked away in my mind to soften my reality. An answer more to psyche myself out that I was really ready to do this. Even if I wasn't ready, I was going, and I was going to enjoy it!

The pilot, Jeff, two cameramen and I stepped in the C-182 aircraft. The warmth of the sun calmed me as I turned my face towards my mom to wave – not to wave goodbye, but more saying "Help me mom, don't let me do this!" I don't think I communicated that very well, because she stood there smiling and snapping photographs of her crazy wild daughter. The camera was focused on my every move, capturing each fearful movement to document this divine experience.

The plane rumbled as she picked up speed, lifting to the wide-open sky. Jeff eased my thoughts as he talked me through the entire process, reminding me of everything that he had previously informed me on the ground. We all sat in the rear of the plane, squished into the tiny cabin. I grew excited as we surfed through the air on our way to 12,000 feet, the altitude we would jump from.

The guys grew boisterous in their manners, calming my pre-diving jitters with their bubbling energy. The cabin filled with an abundance of laughter and talk, which reverted my mind to the conversation. I gazed out the window to the earth below; it shrank every moment we ascended. I felt more excited than anything now. Jeff kept giving me pointers on the dive, and he reassured me through any qualms or concerns I may have had. But now I was ready. Every moment packed in more and more readiness and longing for the sunset dive.

We soared closer and closer to our jumping altitude, and the guys became more pumped for the long-anticipated jump. Jeff locked his parachute and straps to me; we would now be attached to each other until we reached the ground. He slipped my goggles over my eyes to protect them from the wind and any debris that may be in the air. He asked me if I was ready. I smiled to nurture any leftover fears, nodding my head "yes" in eager yearning for the open air.

The door flung open as wind gushed into the cabin. The sound pierced my ears as Jeff and I inched our way towards the violent air streaming through the opening. My senses overloaded. My mind drew a blank with the initial shock of what I was just about to embark on, causing me to forget what it was that I was supposed to do. Jeff led my movements to aid me in my time of forgetfulness. I planted my eyes on another of the cameramen, who was holding on to the wing of the plane while he recorded all my stumbling actions. The force of the wind plastered a smile on my lips: I really was going to skydive. The smile stretched across my face as I looked down to the open abyss, the liberating sky that I would soon be sailing in.

Our movements were synchronized as we leaned out of the plane, back in, and out again, then thrusting ourselves from the plane that now rapidly disappeared overhead. My first reaction was to close my eyes – what am I doing? I realized as the world surrounded me in black. I forced my heavy eyelids open to soak in this supreme moment.

We tumbled through the air, entering the sky with three somersault flips. We steadied ourselves on our stomachs with arched backs, arms and legs out. One of the cameramen was right in front of Jeff and me, sticking out his hand for a high-5. I reached out for him as the wind's forceful pull caused my arm to flail. The wind rushed through my fingertips violently as we sliced our way through the open air. A smile cemented on my face.

My heart thumped inside my chest as I gulped for the sweet air rushing over my face. The overwhelming rush of sensations streamed through my veins. My body was in overdrive; I felt more alive than ever. Jeff informed me that our body automatically goes into survival mode due to the overwhelming reality of this endeavor.

I set my eyes to the elaborate, tinted colors of the setting sun, painting the distant horizon warm softening shades of red and orange. The pillow clouds floated in the distance as I melted into the sunset. Jeff's hand was in my side view as he gave me a thumbs-up. We tousled through the sky, swimming through the waves of air that enveloped our fall. Jeff pointed towards my ripcord, which signaled me when to let the parachute out. I looked down, remembering the training that I had received and with ease pulled the cord and released the rainbow chute. The parachute jolted us up immediately, changing the fast fall to a calming, slow decent.

"Wahoo!" I yelled, partly to realize I was alive, I had survived and had to express my unexplainable reaction. Now was the canopy ride, which was the more mellow part of the dive. Jeff guided me to steer the parachute with the cords attached to the front of the chute. I pulled lightly to the right and lightly to the left, timid and gentle in my control. He playfully said I could do a little better than that, and quickly turned the cord to the right. We began to spiral, swinging through the air, the sky our endless playground.

Jeff prepared me for the landing, informing me again on how to stand up as we neared the ground. I anticipated the ground, yearning to feel the earth below my feet. "Okay, and stand up," he said, as my legs turned to jelly and I lightly fell to my knees. I squealed laughter in my clumsy stumble. He picked me up, luckily not falling on me, and congratulated me on a most successful skydive.

My hair, now dreaded with its wild windblown look, and the energy bustling in my body was a souvenir from the adventurous thrill. We walked towards the cameraman, who waited for my incoherent response. The thrill of the dive was shining out of my responses: quite unclear and overloaded to speak eloquently with my words. I looked at my mother and smiled, happy to see her and overjoyed by the wondrous adventure. Skydiving is truly experimenting with gravity.

Free-Fall Fun
Anyone should try skydiving at least once in your life. What an amazingly beautiful and wild experience. Jeff was an awesome instructor that I felt very comfortable with, so make sure you take the time to find the right company, that is established as is Wright Brothers. Especially make sure you feel good about your instructor.

Ahhh, you truly haven't lived unless you've been skydiving! Soaring through the air is pure, electrifying bliss!

One last bit of advice: plant your feet on the ground when you land. It doesn't hurt when you fall, but it's not the smoothest way of landing.

For more information on Wright Brothers Skydiving, check out their website at wrightbrothersskydive.com, or call (541) 461-JUMP or 1-800-SKYDIVE.

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