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Fear is really nothing but an illusion. When we're young, we fear nothing. But then, society teaches us to place limits on ourselves. As a fearless kid, this newfound feeling bothered me. Two months ago, my dad and I decided to go skydiving in Guadeloupe. My dad wanted to conquer his fear of heights and I wanted to reclaim the adrenaline addict that lay within me. This is the story of how we jumped out of a plane at 10,000 feet on a small French island in the Caribbean (and lived to tell the tale) haha. I hope it inspires you to try new things and not let fear stop you. The night before our skydive, I could hardly sleep and kept tossing and turning. Eventually, I gave up and just sat by the pool of our rental house to watch the sun rise. At eight, my dad and I had something light for breakfast and drove over to the skydiving center. I thought it was coolest and most unique skydive center ever, as it was situated in the middle of a lush green field, beside grazing cows. Everything about it just screamed island life. As soon as we walked in, we were greeted by two dogs. While my dad filled out paperwork, I chatted with an 8 year old girl whose parents both worked at the center. She walked barefoot, showing me which dog played fetch. I asked her if she'd ever been skydiving and she replied, "Once, when I was in my mom's stomach." She reassured me with all-seriousness that I had nothing to worry about because there had never been any accidents before. Then, I met my instructor, who gave my dad and I a security demonstration, helped us put on our harnesses and answered our questions. Everyone was so kind and enthusiastic that my nerves began to ease at this point. The plane arrived and we all headed out to the runway. I'd say the scariest part about the whole experience was getting inside the plane- it was slightly bigger than a car. My dad and his instructor sat, followed by me and my instructor, while my videographer sat across from us in the corner. Once everyone was seated, the plane raced down the runway and took off. I was seated next to the open plane door. The entire plane ride up, my videographer joked around and made me laugh. He told me we were going to dab as soon as we jumped, and told me to keep smiling or my cheeks would flap around in the wind. We flew over La Pointe des Chateaux, which is the easternmost point of the island. The rugged Caribbean coastline was stunning from the sky, and entranced us all with its beauty. The crystal clear water merged with the dark reef to give off the appearance of an exotic bath bomb. My instructor pointed things out as we passed them and told me that he'd jumped in many, many places yet Guadeloupe was by far his favorite. Once we hit 10,000 feet, I felt clicking on my back and realized that my harness was being tightened. My instructor showed me his altimeter and told me we were going to jump in a couple moments. My dad and his instructor went first, scooting to the edge of the plane before disappearing in a split second. It was the weirdest thing to watch, and I jokingly told my videographer that at least there was more room in the plane now. Next, I remember the pilot saying that the wind was too strong and that they had to circle around one more time. Anxious to jump already, I watched through the door as we made another sweeping turn. After what felt like an eternity but was probably a minute, my videographer motioned to me and told me that we were going to go next. To avoid me from looking down, he told me to look at him and smile into the GoPro. My instructor started scooting us towards the edge of the plane and I just remember feeling like I couldn't move. The adrenaline caused my legs to feel stiff and frozen, but I made it to the door. The sensation of hanging over the plane felt like being at the edge of a cliff right before jumping off. I felt the emptiness below me and the tug of gravity. Before I could even blink, we were plummeting towards Earth. I remember those first few moments feeling like a roller coaster. My heart dropped and I felt like I was falling into a void. Planet Earth was quickly getting closer and closer, and my mouth was so dry from the air hitting it so fast. The next thing I knew, my instructor was tapping me to signal that I would open my arms out. I looked up to realize we were flying. There was no longer a feeling of falling, but instead we were gliding. My videographer was across from me, and grabbed my hand. At that point, the whole experience became real. I realized I was spinning in the air exactly like him. He dabbed and I followed suit. It was actually pretty easy to dab in the air! After the dabs, my videographer disappeared and my instructor and I continued to glide through the air. That feeling of utmost freedom made me understand why people dedicate their lives to skydiving. Flying over the island, it felt like we owned it. Everything was so small. I was pulled upright and my ears popped. I realized the parachute had opened, and from that moment on, it was like parasailing. We swiftly sailed towards the ground, and as the drop zone became clearer and clearer, I spotted everyone back on the ground waiting for us. We swooped down low and my feet hit the ground. Two people helped pull our parachute forward while I tried to process what had just happened. The dogs came running, my dad cheered and my videographer high fived me. Back inside the center, I met up with my 8 year old friend, who ended up being my videographer's daughter. We had a good laugh over watching the footage from the jump and after thanking everyone and bidding them farewell, we were off to the beach. All in all, skydiving was an incredible experience that I would definitely recommend, especially while in Guadeloupe. We jumped with Caraibe Parachutisme, who were simply amazing. They are very professional, kind and put us at ease. I trust them with my life- literally! Skydiving is something that changes your perspective on things and shows you that when you don't let fear consume you, the possibilities are endless. My dad posted the full video on Youtube below, so click if you want to watch it. Thank you for reading! Disclaimer: This activity was in no way sponsored nor did I receive any compensation for this post
3 Comments
2/11/2020 08:52:11 pm
Skydiving is my favorite thing to do right now, that much is for sure. I understand that people are afraid of fights, and I respect that. If you ask me, there is nothing wrong with being scared of it, however, being too scared can hinder a lot of great things. Sky diving is a fun challenge, and you will miss out on a lot if you do not try to do it, believe me, it is such an amazing experience, it is out of this world.
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AuthorYasmine is NYC born, world raised storyteller who shares the stories of the people and places of the world. Categories
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