What it’s really like to go skydiving

‘Am I going to die?


As a kid everyone always dreams of what it would be like to have the superpower of flying. You wish that you could be up in the sky flying with the birds.  You sit with your friends looking up at the clouds, figuring out what they look like. You have no idea that it is even possible for someone to fall from them.

On July 7, 2016, that dream of flying came true for me. It was my 19th birthday and I was given the gift to go skydiving. For some that seemed like the worst gift possible but others thought it was one of the coolest gifts I could’ve received.

Pre-skydiving thoughts

I’ve always wanted to go skydiving and was so excited that I finally was going to be able to. But when everything started becoming a reality and I was on my way to the skydiving starting point my nerves started hitting me and I was wondering what I got myself into. I started picturing what the headline of the newspaper would say if I died on my 19th birthday skydiving.

Throughout the entire experience I was hit with a mix of emotions from excited to terrified. I had no idea what to think on my drive up to Scanton, PA, which is where I would take off. Once I was in the plane I literally thought that I was an idiot.

On the plane ride up your nerves begin to race and you don’t really know what to think. You look out the window and question yourself over and over. So many thoughts go through your mind. You get to a point where you are high above the clouds and thats when you really think, “Wow I might die today.”

The next thing you know, they are opening up the door to the plane. The wind is bursting throughout the plane and everything is so loud. You are moments away from doing something insane. You don’t have much time to think and next thing you know you are falling out of the plane.

When the adrenaline kicks in

People ask all the time what your thoughts are when you are falling, but truth is it all happens so fast that your first time you almost forget what went through your mind. All those thoughts you had before you jumped are now gone. You have so much adrenaline in you that everything else seems so surreal. You look down and realize that everything is so small – all of your worries in life are gone for a few minutes. You are above the land, not in an airplane, not in a helicopter – it’s literally just you.

It’s not long before your parachute blows up and then you can enjoy a long ride down to land. You float through the sky and that’s when it really hits you that you just did it. You didn’t die, nothing happened… you’re alive!

Post- skydiving thoughts

When you land you look up to the sky and realize you just fell 25,000 feet. It all went so quick that you almost want to do it again because you’re still in such shock. Everyone makes it out to seem like it is one of the craziest things to do, but you can say for yourself that it really wasn’t that scary.

Skydiving gives you this feeling that is indescribable. You feel like you are on top of the world. Nothing can really compare to it.

Why you want everyone to experience it

Skydiving is a once in a lifetime experience. Yes I get it, jumping out of a plane seems a little unordinary. But you can’t just do ordinary things your whole life. We all need to get that nervous feeling in our stomachs every once in a while.

Skydiving will prove to you that you can do many things. After it you are on this high. You feel like you can conquer all of your fears. I am already looking forward to when I can do it a second time. It’s addicting, you’re going to want to stay on the high that it puts you on for a long time.

So look into it, don’t think too much about it, and plan it. You will not regret it when you are on your way down about to land. You’ll be able to say, “I’ve gone skydiving.” The next time you go on a plane you’ll look out the window and realize you were out there. Nothing else can compare to that. It’s worth that slightest chance of dying. You may question yourself a million times but after you will be thanking yourself.

You’ll be able to cross skydiving off your bucket list and remember it for years to come!