Like every other month before I have had a movie that go along with my challenges. This time around I choose Kingsman: The Secret Service.
The reason I selected this film was because I love the skydiving scene. It's thrilling, it's funny, it shows how brave you have to be when "one of you doesn't have a parachute". Now, I know that that is the worse thing that can happen, but I knew it was really going to happen to me. Plus, who doesn't want to watch a movie this this man on the screen?
This was the very first thing that went onto my courage list. It was the one adrenaline rush activity that I claimed that I would never do. The reason is the same that everyone else in the world says that they don't want to do it. They say "why would I want to jump out of a perfectly good airplane". I was the one leading the choir on that song! It's true though! Why would I want to jump out of an airplane? Why would I want to do that crazy thing? Well, since that is something I have always said that I would never do I knew it was something that I would have to do for this challenge this year.
Well, since I am typing this you know that I made it out alive. Let me tell you about my journey.
Ok, so I did my research months in advance in picking the place that I was going to go to do my dive. I picked Chattanooga Skydiving Company. It is located in Jasper, Tennessee just outside of Chattanooga. They had great reviews online, they website gives you a wonderful rundown of what you expect. You are fully aware of what is going to happen and what they are going to do to get you ready. I felt so much better about doing this just by looking at their website alone!
So, I go from Knoxville to Jasper, about a two hour drive, and I am scary calm. I am not freaking out, my heart is not racing, I am perfectly fine. I get there a little bit late but they are totally nice about everything! They get me in the harness and they tell me what they want me to do real quick and tell me that I will be going with group two. So, I am watching the first group go up in the plane and I am freaking out more of the fact that I am not freaking out. I am even calm enough to talk to a nice couple that was visiting Chattanooga from Illinois. We watch the first group come out of the plane and the parachutes open up. We watch them land, we hear everyone say how great it was, and then the instructors are back getting their equipment to go up again.
Now, let me give you the rundown of what they told me. Ryan, my instructor who was totally great and fun, Told me we are going to get in the plane and we will scoot to the door, because he is connected to me. He tells me that my feet will be out and under the plane once we get to the door. I will cross my arms, smile, we will fall out of the plane, once in the air he will tap you on your arm five time and you can open your arms, freefall, and then we will open the chute.
Very easy, right. I thought so too....
Then I got up in the plate. Ryan and I were the first people in this really, really, REALLY tiny plane. It wasn't until I was stuffed in like a sardine that I realized that first one in was also the last one out! I had to sit and watch literally every single person go before me. He told me we were the last ones out at about 7,000ft into our 14,000ft flight. So, for 7,000ft all I could think about was The Wizard of Oz. Yeah, I know shocking right? I could only think about the line that the Wicked Witch says before she sets the Scarecrow on fine, "The last to die will see the first three go before her".
So, everyone is going and that is when it hits me that this is real. I am in a perfectly good plane about to jump out of it! I am next. I sitting on the edge of the open door with my feet dangling out of the side of the plane. Now, for you rational people out there, how would be handling this moment? I am guessing some would pray, some would hold the side of the door for dear life, some would refuse to jump out of the plane, others would be very excited and ready to go. I did none of those things. The only thing that I could think of was "I'm going to loose my shoes".
Yes, I am 14,000ft in the air, my legs outside of a plane about to jump and all I can think about is the fact that I didn't have enough smarts to tighten my shoelaces. So, I am going to loose one or both of my shoes, and they are going to fall off and be lost forever or they are going to kill someone falling from that height! They tell me to cross my arms and smile. Next thought is "Oh Dear Lord! There's the ground! It's so far awa….. WHY AM I LOOKING AT THE AIRPLANE WHAT HAPPENED TO THE GROU.... oh there it is.... did we just turn in the air".
We did turn in the air. They don't tell you that! They don't tell you that right after we jump out of the plane that we have to do an acrobatic stunt immediately after! As soon as I know where the ground is at I can finally start processing what is going on. it's windy, I'm falling, I am screaming louder that I even had before.
It was one of the best things I have ever done in my whole life! It has to be up there with one of the coolest things I will ever do! I want to do it all over again! That is not what I thought I was going to say after. I thought that It was going to be good but I would never do it again. I was wrong. I want to go again right now. I want to totally jump out of a plane again! So, the parachute opens and now we are floating. Ryan gives me the controls of the chute so he can fix my stapes ands stuff so I am not as uncomfortable floating down. So, now I am flying a parachute, which is something I never thought I would ever do in my life!
This is one of those things on my list that was shocking how much I love it. It's one of those things where I can say to myself "I jumped out of a perfectly good airplane I can totally handle anything else that comes my way".
I am going again as soon as I can because it was so much fun! If you are afraid of skydiving please go and do it once in your life I promise you it will be well worth it!
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