Typically if you’re 10,500 feet in the air you’re probably flying on a plane safely traveling to a destination, not jumping from the airplane’s open door like me.
If you know me pretty well, you know about my long bucket list of crazy adventures, and at the top of that list is skydiving.
Ever since I was a little kid, I wanted to go skydiving for my 18th birthday. Something about throwing yourself out of an airplane (with a parachute of course) always struck me something I wanted to do. Well, September 12 the day finally came that I had been patiently waiting for—I would actually be skydiving at a place called Skydive Ricks in East Palestine, Ohio.
September 12 was my 18th birthday, and what better way to enter adulthood than jumping out of an airplane. Unfortunately, due to the high winds that morning, Skydive Ricks tandem skydive instructors cancelled all of their jumps that day for everyone’s safety. I was upset that I wouldn’t be skydiving on my actual birthday, but thankfully I was able to reschedule for September 19.
After a very long week, the day came when I actually would be hurling myself out of an airplane. On purpose.
When my family and I arrived at Skydive Ricks, I quickly signed the papers (should I have read the fine print?), took a short instructional class about the proper form needed to skydive, and suited up for my jump with my tandem partner Jim who has jumped over 12,000 times in his career.
To ensure my safety, four people double checked that my harness was on properly. Once I was in the clear, Jim and I headed to the plane that would carry us aloft. Again, he reviewed all the necessary steps I’d have to take before and after we jumped and then finally the plane took off.
This was no luxury flight. The plane had no passenger seats—we just sat on its floor.
On our upward climb, I smiled the whole time out of excitement. I patiently waited for the 25 minute plane ride to 10,500 feet to be over so I could finally check skydiving off my bucket list.
When the plane reached 8,000 feet, Jim attached my harness to his harness and parachute and just five short minutes later we reached our jump height. In tandem jumping the inexperienced skydiver is harnessed in front of the experienced skydiver sort of like a front seat passenger.
While 10,500 feet doesn’t seem that high from the inside of a perfectly functioning plane, take one step outside that plane and it’s a whole different world. The plane door opened, I put my feet on the platform above the wheel, crossed my arms across my chest, and Jim said, “Ready . . . Set . . . JUMP!” and pushed the two of us out of the plane.
I had absolutely no thoughts going through my mind as we fell toward earth. Life is so hard to comprehend and doesn’t feel real when you’re falling at 120 miles per hour straight towards the ground, but for some reason it brings the biggest smile to your face—this is what genuine serotonin feels like.
The rushing air also humorously stretches and contorts your face as you plummet.
After 30 seconds of exhilarating free fall we reached an altitude of 5,000 feet, Jim pulled the cord releasing the parachute, and for the next five minutes we slowly descended to the ground talking about the incredible experience I just had the opportunity to live out.
Jim let me control the parachute on the way down until we got close to the ground before he took over to make sure we landed properly. Some people might not know that you actually can steer a parachute.
Once safely back on the ground, I met up with my very nervous family and was able to check “Skydiving” off my bucket list.
This was genuinely the greatest experience of my life! If you ever have the opportunity to skydive, do it in a heartbeat—it is genuinely the most freeing experience of your life.
Next on the bucket list . . . “Graduate high school.”
