(Elizabeth Tertadian -- The Beacon)
By Elizabeth Tertadian, Designer -- tertadia13@up.edu
I finally took the plunge. I leaped without looking. And then I was falling… or rather, skydiving. I kicked off fall break with a fall, out of a plane.
Skydiving was something I had wanted to do since high school. My uncle, who owns his own little plane, inspired me to go. The plan was to go for my high school graduation. However, bad weather kept that plan grounded. But two years later, a few friends and I decided we couldn't wait any longer. I was the lone girl with senior Air Force ROTC guys Bryan Brenize and Marco Catanese. Skydiving was on our bucket list, and we were determined to do it.
Together we signed our lives away (literally – there was even a portion that recommended a lawyer, and to be sure provisions were made for those financially dependent on you in case of your death), took a course on dive procedure (approximately 15 minutes long), put on jumpsuits and were on our way to the air strip. Bryan and I went together in one plane with a few solo jumpers. As this was our first jump, we were going tandem with professionals.
All my nervous knots evaporated as I smiled for the camera and climbed into the back of the plane. The camera men, who also jumped with us, got Bryan and me excited, asking questions and making us laugh. Up we went, until the ground looked like nothing but boxes of color.
Then it was time to jump. I was surprisingly calm, and not scared or nervous at all. I crouched in a catcher-position on the edge of an open plane, looked ahead, then tipped out of the plane, my dive instructor on my back.
The fall was incredible. I may have been falling at 150 mph, but I was floating. That feeling you get when you drop on a roller-coaster, you know, the heart-dropping-into-your-stomach one? Did not have it. I attempted to smile as the wind was rushing upward at my face, and then remembered to breathe. It was over all too quickly. Once the parachute was open, it was so calm and quite. Around me was the city, and I saw perfectly the Cascade mountains around me. I flew the parachute, going in circles, and slowly floated down to the ground. I could not stop smiling after it was all over. It was the best thrill I've ever experienced and I cannot wait to go again.
