How did Skydiving change my life?

Due to the time restraints, I and my friend Olivia Crooks, haven’t been able to sky-dive the day everyone else we came with, did. The group of six people each left us two as the last ones to board a plane and then jump out of it. When everyone else was sitting there in excitement, wearing the diving suits, getting ready and going out in a plane and then dropping down from the sky with a parachute; I and Olivia were sitting there in apprehension looking at each other and hoping that the weather remains calm and let these eighteen people be done with soon. Because, we damn wanted to do what we came here for today and that’s to go on a plane with my diving suit on and with all my might jump out of it, feel whatever I am supposed to feel and then land back on the ground below like birds from the sky.

They kept telling us till the end that we’ll be going on that plane; the one standing in the far right corner, they even made us wear our diving suits and gave us instructions of how to act when we are up in the air. But at the end, the only thing that we feared, happened. We left for the safari without sky-diving, so as not to get late for it.

We were piqued. But this, later, gave me and Olivia, the wonderful opportunity to jump off a bridge and out of the plane on the same day. It also meant that I had already jumped off a bridge alone; before, jumping out off a plane with an instructor by my side. And now that I’m here, I am feeling resolute…dauntless.

Unlike the bigger planes that everyone else went into, our plane is much smaller and can only seat the two of us and our instructors, as we sat with both our feet lying straight. My instructor is sitting right behind me, such that my outer thighs are rubbing against his inner thighs. His name is Mark.

As the wheels started to roll,

We are gaining speed,

And now the altitude too.

The wheels are no more touching the ground.

I am going higher above,

I can see the trees beneath,

Then, the Clouds,

And the ocean appears on my right.

I am at 6,000ft now,

I am looking at the city of Mossel Bay underneath.

Meanwhile Mark tightens the harness,

And I find myself sitting on his lap,

With both our feet still straight.

The sea waves from up here looks stationary,

And the Time seems still.

But the blowing wind reminds

The glory so sublime.

As we reached 10,000 ft…

The altimeter beeped,

And we jumped off the plane.

My face looks like that of a babushka,

I can bet.

The air pressure here is particularly low,

But the screaming helps.

I’m free falling…

Not scared- not even a bit!

It’s been a dream.

How blessed these feathered creatures are,

How damned we earthlings!

Fumed with disgust and loathe,

We seized, caged and locked.

But look at me now…

I feel something in me,

Something I’ve never felt before.

It’s ethereal…

I’m high, no stimulations though.

I’m flying, but not for long,

As the parachute has opened.

In no time, I’ll be down there,

But until then,

Let me fly…

As I have discovered my wings,

The ones I never knew I had.

Here’s a video of me Sky-diving from 10,000ft in Mossel Bay, South Africa: