First off, I need to apologize for my lack of contact. There is honestly no excuse except my lack of motivation to keep up with a blog. But I have made it a goal to pull my socks up and continue sharing.
Over the next week, I will have about three installments of the latest adventures and happenings of life in Australia. I am going to begin with one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had. Ever. And it deserves a blog post of its own.
Skydiving.
In early September one of my best friends, Sean, came to Australia for one month. I met up with him for two weeks for a little east coast travelling. I had said to him a few months prior, "Hey! Let's go skydiving when you're here! In Cairns!" He was very easy to persuade.
Skydiving is something I have always considered but have always been too chicken shit to actually do and I never thought I actually would get the balls to do it (wow, sorry for the profanity and vulgar terms). Anyway, what changed my mind was hearing about a newfound friend's experience while I was in India. He had me hooked and all of a sudden I lost the fear aspect of it all.
Fear is what generally holds us back. Standing up to your boss - fear - fear of being reprimanded. Telling someone we love them - fear - fear that they don't love us back. Getting into and staying in a headstand - fear - fear of falling. Jumping out of an airplane - fear - fear of an unknown experience (and for some, death). Sometimes, we just need to recognize and acknowledge that fear and then let it go. And that's what I did.
Let's get back to the night before the 'big jump'. I had just booked mine and Sean's jump earlier that day. That was it; it was going to happen. The lead up to it I was a complete ball of nerves and excitement. I would burst out at the most random times, "Remember how we are jumping out of an airplane tomorrow?!?" Sean was cool and collected and I could tell that me continually reminding him was making him nervous - on the inside of course.
I had a restless sleep and when my alarm finally went off, I thought "Oh shit! It's here! Guess what we are about to go do, Sean?!?" The big van picked us up at 7:00am where we joined about twelve other jumpers. The dropzone was about an hour's drive away and during this time, we were all filling out consent forms basically stating that we understand that we could die. The crew members were cracking death jokes like nobody's business. There was an option for insurance if you didn't already have it and the one guy was like, "Haha, that always makes me laugh, what's the point of having insurance if you die?" Definitely a real knack of making you feel at ease! But honestly, they were just mocking all the flack skydiving gets when really, it is very safe.
When we get there, I can feel my heartrate increase and when presented with anything stressful, I resort back to yoga and focused on my breath to calm myself. We are all sitting around and one of the instructors, Sergio, starts giving us a brief rundown. Next thing I know I hear, "Tracy!" My name was the first one to be called. I join Sergio and he goes through everything at a more personal level. Once I am all harnessed in, I follow him to a small little plane. If anything, it could have been the flying in a teeny plane that I feared the most. Sean and his instructor get in next, followed by an Asian couple and their instructors. So there you have it, there is no bailing from me; I am squashed in this tiny plane. I resort back to controlling my breath and calming my nerves. It had to be one of the most confronting experiences though - just honestly not knowing what to expect.
The plane starts down the runway and we're off! The plane was loud, the gear was uncomfortable, I was cramped, I was so nervous but I was also unbelievably excited. Sergio asked me how I was doing and I said, "Yeah good! Doing my yoga breathing!" It was definitely one of those internal battles. I could give in to this fear or understand and accept that there was no turning back and I could just truly enjoy the experience. The latter is what I chose to do.
We finally get up to 16,000 feet and it's time to open the door. This precise moment is when I heard the other girl start freaking out...but it was hard to determine if it was pure excitement or pure fear. Her boyfriend was the first to jump and the best way to describe it is simply: Now you see him, now you don't. The time between jumps is quick and there is no BS of sitting and waiting until you are ready at the door; you probably will never be fully ready. The second to go was the girlfriend and my god, what a scene! We soon discover those yips and yelps were absolutely not excitement. As her instructor tries to shift her to the door, she is grabbing onto anything in her reach. She even throws her arms at Sean and his instructor. They finally get to the door and he gets her to cross her arms and down they go, her screams being heard over the engine. Sergio turns to the pilot and says, "We got a screamer!"
It's Sean's turn next and as quickly as he got to the door, he was out the door. Within seconds of Sean jumping, Sergio was pushing for us to go to the door. This is it Trace. To explain the feeling just then is honestly indescribable. You know it is about to happen but you really have no idea what it's going to be like. Sergio put his hands on the door, positions us, makes sure I am in appropriate jumping form (head back and arms crossed in front of chest) and then the next thing I know, we are out the door and falling headfirst towards to the ground. You know when you go on a carnival ride or drive over a rolling hill really quickly and that feeling of your stomach getting left at the top? Well that is what the initial seconds were like...except that feeling with every organ in my body. After approximately ten seconds, I got the okay to open my arms. It was incredible. I hoot and hollered (no yipping and yelping from me) and tried to take in the experience. Your mind just goes on complete sensory overload. So many sights, sounds, and feelings. I remember thinking, "Damn, I should have taken my studs out! My ear lobes keep flapping and it kind of hurts!" Then I would look around and be taken aback by the view of the Coral Sea and Daintree Rainforest. All awhile my body is cruising down towards the ground at speeds of around 220km/hr. I didn't even think about the parachute; the 60 second freefall could have gone on forever.
Sergio then pulled the parachute and we floated on down towards the ground. He asked me, "Do you want to fly it?" Of course I did! Absolutely! He explained how it worked and I flew us around a bit and then he took over control as we got closer to the landing zone. This part did feel like a really terrible carnival ride though (motion sickness can affect me) but I managed to ignore those feelings! Just before we landed, I lifted up my legs as told and voila! We hit the ground all limbs intact! Big high-fives! Sean had landed just before me and we just looked at each other and smiled and laughed and shared in the absolute euphoria that skydiving is. To say we were wired is an understatement. The adrenalin high was unreal. We couldn't stop talking about each other's experiences. My body was literally shaking and I was trying to recall every detail. They say you often forget many details because as I said before, your mind just goes on complete sensory overload. About twenty minutes later, I started to feel a bit ill as I came down from my high but absolutely nothing to complain about!
We watched others land and seeing their faces and listening to their experiences was just as incredible because you know what they are talking about. You have felt that adrenalin. You have felt that euphoria.
Would I skydive again? Without question. I am so glad I was able to work past that initial fear, for this experience is one that I will never ever forget. But if there is one lesson to be had here, I highly suggest not emailing your mom afterwards only stating, "Guess what I just did?! Jumped out of an airplane!" I recommend a few more details to ease her mind... Sorry again, mom :)
Below are just a few pictures. I did not buy pictures or video of my jump - the memory of the experience is enough for me. Here's to letting go of fear and jumping into the unknown.
Over the next week, I will have about three installments of the latest adventures and happenings of life in Australia. I am going to begin with one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had. Ever. And it deserves a blog post of its own.
Skydiving.
In early September one of my best friends, Sean, came to Australia for one month. I met up with him for two weeks for a little east coast travelling. I had said to him a few months prior, "Hey! Let's go skydiving when you're here! In Cairns!" He was very easy to persuade.
Skydiving is something I have always considered but have always been too chicken shit to actually do and I never thought I actually would get the balls to do it (wow, sorry for the profanity and vulgar terms). Anyway, what changed my mind was hearing about a newfound friend's experience while I was in India. He had me hooked and all of a sudden I lost the fear aspect of it all.
Fear is what generally holds us back. Standing up to your boss - fear - fear of being reprimanded. Telling someone we love them - fear - fear that they don't love us back. Getting into and staying in a headstand - fear - fear of falling. Jumping out of an airplane - fear - fear of an unknown experience (and for some, death). Sometimes, we just need to recognize and acknowledge that fear and then let it go. And that's what I did.
Let's get back to the night before the 'big jump'. I had just booked mine and Sean's jump earlier that day. That was it; it was going to happen. The lead up to it I was a complete ball of nerves and excitement. I would burst out at the most random times, "Remember how we are jumping out of an airplane tomorrow?!?" Sean was cool and collected and I could tell that me continually reminding him was making him nervous - on the inside of course.
I had a restless sleep and when my alarm finally went off, I thought "Oh shit! It's here! Guess what we are about to go do, Sean?!?" The big van picked us up at 7:00am where we joined about twelve other jumpers. The dropzone was about an hour's drive away and during this time, we were all filling out consent forms basically stating that we understand that we could die. The crew members were cracking death jokes like nobody's business. There was an option for insurance if you didn't already have it and the one guy was like, "Haha, that always makes me laugh, what's the point of having insurance if you die?" Definitely a real knack of making you feel at ease! But honestly, they were just mocking all the flack skydiving gets when really, it is very safe.
When we get there, I can feel my heartrate increase and when presented with anything stressful, I resort back to yoga and focused on my breath to calm myself. We are all sitting around and one of the instructors, Sergio, starts giving us a brief rundown. Next thing I know I hear, "Tracy!" My name was the first one to be called. I join Sergio and he goes through everything at a more personal level. Once I am all harnessed in, I follow him to a small little plane. If anything, it could have been the flying in a teeny plane that I feared the most. Sean and his instructor get in next, followed by an Asian couple and their instructors. So there you have it, there is no bailing from me; I am squashed in this tiny plane. I resort back to controlling my breath and calming my nerves. It had to be one of the most confronting experiences though - just honestly not knowing what to expect.
The plane starts down the runway and we're off! The plane was loud, the gear was uncomfortable, I was cramped, I was so nervous but I was also unbelievably excited. Sergio asked me how I was doing and I said, "Yeah good! Doing my yoga breathing!" It was definitely one of those internal battles. I could give in to this fear or understand and accept that there was no turning back and I could just truly enjoy the experience. The latter is what I chose to do.
We finally get up to 16,000 feet and it's time to open the door. This precise moment is when I heard the other girl start freaking out...but it was hard to determine if it was pure excitement or pure fear. Her boyfriend was the first to jump and the best way to describe it is simply: Now you see him, now you don't. The time between jumps is quick and there is no BS of sitting and waiting until you are ready at the door; you probably will never be fully ready. The second to go was the girlfriend and my god, what a scene! We soon discover those yips and yelps were absolutely not excitement. As her instructor tries to shift her to the door, she is grabbing onto anything in her reach. She even throws her arms at Sean and his instructor. They finally get to the door and he gets her to cross her arms and down they go, her screams being heard over the engine. Sergio turns to the pilot and says, "We got a screamer!"
It's Sean's turn next and as quickly as he got to the door, he was out the door. Within seconds of Sean jumping, Sergio was pushing for us to go to the door. This is it Trace. To explain the feeling just then is honestly indescribable. You know it is about to happen but you really have no idea what it's going to be like. Sergio put his hands on the door, positions us, makes sure I am in appropriate jumping form (head back and arms crossed in front of chest) and then the next thing I know, we are out the door and falling headfirst towards to the ground. You know when you go on a carnival ride or drive over a rolling hill really quickly and that feeling of your stomach getting left at the top? Well that is what the initial seconds were like...except that feeling with every organ in my body. After approximately ten seconds, I got the okay to open my arms. It was incredible. I hoot and hollered (no yipping and yelping from me) and tried to take in the experience. Your mind just goes on complete sensory overload. So many sights, sounds, and feelings. I remember thinking, "Damn, I should have taken my studs out! My ear lobes keep flapping and it kind of hurts!" Then I would look around and be taken aback by the view of the Coral Sea and Daintree Rainforest. All awhile my body is cruising down towards the ground at speeds of around 220km/hr. I didn't even think about the parachute; the 60 second freefall could have gone on forever.
Sergio then pulled the parachute and we floated on down towards the ground. He asked me, "Do you want to fly it?" Of course I did! Absolutely! He explained how it worked and I flew us around a bit and then he took over control as we got closer to the landing zone. This part did feel like a really terrible carnival ride though (motion sickness can affect me) but I managed to ignore those feelings! Just before we landed, I lifted up my legs as told and voila! We hit the ground all limbs intact! Big high-fives! Sean had landed just before me and we just looked at each other and smiled and laughed and shared in the absolute euphoria that skydiving is. To say we were wired is an understatement. The adrenalin high was unreal. We couldn't stop talking about each other's experiences. My body was literally shaking and I was trying to recall every detail. They say you often forget many details because as I said before, your mind just goes on complete sensory overload. About twenty minutes later, I started to feel a bit ill as I came down from my high but absolutely nothing to complain about!
We watched others land and seeing their faces and listening to their experiences was just as incredible because you know what they are talking about. You have felt that adrenalin. You have felt that euphoria.
Would I skydive again? Without question. I am so glad I was able to work past that initial fear, for this experience is one that I will never ever forget. But if there is one lesson to be had here, I highly suggest not emailing your mom afterwards only stating, "Guess what I just did?! Jumped out of an airplane!" I recommend a few more details to ease her mind... Sorry again, mom :)
Below are just a few pictures. I did not buy pictures or video of my jump - the memory of the experience is enough for me. Here's to letting go of fear and jumping into the unknown.
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| After the jump - I think this is when I came down from my high. |
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| Watching others coming down and landing safely :) |
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| Bana from Germany - the look on her face says it all! |
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| Skydiving really does take it out of you! The bus ride back to Cairns. |
