The 13 Emotions of Skydiving

Do it.Just do it.Jump out of a plane.It sounds crazy, but i encourage everyone that wants to do it, to just do it. The experience will change your life forever. The multitude of emotion that filters through your brain are unexplainable through words. I can try to pain a picture for you, but honestly, this is just the tip of the iceburg. Just do it, everything will be alright after you land.

Emotion #1: *Apprehension* - Fitting a jumpsuit on, strapping a freshly packed parachutte WILL create butterflies in your gut.

Emotion #2:*Eagerness* - Walking towards the tiny aircraft, you begin shaking, not sure if it's the temperature, or your will forcing you to do it...then you realize it's +25 C.

Emotion #3:*Cognizance* - As you climb into the tiny lil 6 passenger sessna, you realize that this is your last chance to bail.

Emotion #4: *Bliss* - On the way up to the 3000th floor, you spectate the beauty of the earth below. You can't help but fall in love with the idea that you are about to fly like a bird.

Emotion #5: *Panic* - The door flys open, the jumpmaster preps you through direction. You feel the sudden change in cabin pressure, you hear the intense wind howl, this is when you realize that you should have worn an adult diaper.

Emotion X: *X* = This emotion I can not put a word to because I don't know if Webster has defined it. How do you sum this up? Next you stick your leg out into 200 km/h winds, step out onto a foot long peg. You then grasp the diagonal crossbar which attaches the wing to the plane with your right hand. Then you take your left foot, cross it behind the right one and balance yourself on this foot long step. Finally, you let go of the handle inside the cabin and shift it to the diagonal bar. At this point you are flying like Superman (still despratly grasping onto the diagonal bar).

Emotion Y: *Y* = You realize that it's too late to bail because it is physically impossible to get back into the cabin at this point. The jumpmaster yells "ON THE COUNT OF 3 LET GO...1...2...3...GO!" You freeze. Clinging on for dear life, it takes a lot to just let go. This was one of the hardest things i've ever had to do. "GO GO, YOU HAVE TO LET GO!" the jumpmaster exclaims. This is true. I can't hang there any longer or I may drift into the wrong wind current and end up in one of the lakes.

Emotion Z: *Z* = The 2.3 seconds from when i let go to when i opened my eyes and noticed that the plane had shrunk to the size of a dime, i can't explain. Something happend. Neurons in my brain must have been on overdrive because I don't remember seeing the plane shrink. i just blinked and bam, gone!

Emotion #9: *Distress* - After about 5 seconds, you are supposed to look up to make sure that your parashoot has fully deployed. Mine did not. My chute tangled in the cables, this is when i freaked out.

Emotion #10: *Doom* - I actually thought for a second there, that i was going to die.

Emotion #11: *Diligence* - I had to act quickly, or else my pending doom would have become a reality. The night before, they taught us that if the cables became tangled, all you have to do is grab them on both sides and push them straight out, and your chute should correct itself.

Emotion #12: *Euphoria* - After I spun about 15 times, my chute finally deployed bringing me to a halt. I screamed out a joyful yet relieving yelp. Realizing that I just saved my own ass from death is something that is also hard to just put into words.

Emotion #13: *Zen* - When you float 1500 feet above the earth, all you hear is the wind ruffling the flaps of the chute. You appreciate the landscapes beauty as you search for the landing zone. At this point, you don't care about bills, relationships, war, crime, drama, rent or stress. All you focus on is making it back to the airstrip unscathed and safely.

These are the 13 emotions you live in a 10 minute event like skydiving.