He Makes Beautiful Things: 30 Things #6: Skydiving

After 2 1/2 months away from you dear reader, I am sure you wondered if I had given up on you and this whole bucket list thing...SO I figured it was only right that I come back with a bang. And I am alive to tell about it!

YES, I actually did it--I went skydiving! I have always wanted to do this so putting it on my list for this year was my way of making sure it happened. My brother James has also wanted to do it and we agreed that when he got done with his crazy insane year of studying in the classroom to be a physicians assistant that to celebrate, we needed to let loose...just a little :) It was crazy. And amazing. And so fun. I want to go again!!

Here are some unexpected things I learned in picture form:

1. They will pick the scariest looking man to be sure you know you are signing your life away and can't sue them if you die or your arm falls off or anything else could possibly happen.

2. 14,500 feet in the air is really high. The most anticipation occurs as you fly up. You get to 4,000 and think "surely we get out here" and then realize you still have 10,000 more to go--and then you realize you are literally above the clouds!

3. Watching the guy go out before you is scarier than you actually jumping out.

4. You don't actually jump out of the plane. Your tandom guy does it for you. You just get on your knees and do what you're told. You don't have time to think. All I thought at this moment was "We are looking at clouds--where is the ground?!?!?"

5. All of this happens in about 2 seconds. Literally it happens so fast you have no time to freak out. It also is not like jumping off the edge of something. You are too far from the ground for your brain to really process the same way as you would if you were jumping off to bungee jump or something.

6. To get pics or video a girl jumped with us. Next to us. At this point your brain is FREAKING OUT like WHAT IS HAPPENING??

7. And then you just fall :)

8. You don't scream. No sound comes out. And you are going 120 mph.

9. The girl taking my video kept motioning to me do funny things. At one point she told me to make muscles. This was my attempt :)

10. Free fall is about a minute. And then just like that, they are pulling the parachute and you are trying to figure out what just happened. Floating down is only somewhat relaxing. If you don't get motion sickness. Which I normally don't but my guy started swinging us around by pulling on the shute in different ways and wow...I could have been sick haha.