the scariest thing i've ever done

[mellow 0]

was getting back on that airplane.....

i thought that the level 4 nightmare jump of losing my instructor just after exiting and then violently spinning for 6000+ feet last week was behind me. 6 days later i drove down to the dz to try it again, and felt confident and ready to go.

until i saw my instructor walk in the door......then my stomach sank. during the 4 hours i waited to get on a load, this overwhelming fear surfaced out of nowhere. my feet and palms were sweating, i got a headache, i was fighting tears, and pacing....i was absolutely terrified to get on that plane again.

i knew i had to go, so i suited up, swallowed hard, and did it. in the plane i felt like i had a bag of cotton in my mouth, my hands were sweating like crazy.... i was so scared.

then, i made myself take some deep breaths, i leaned back, and sank into my fate. i knew i had to jump out. i told myself that i wasn't going to fight the wind anymore, i wasn't going to overthink my body position and try to balance on that slick cushion of air. instead, i thought, "screw it, i'm going to relax" (thanks john), and "i'm gonna be a birdie, a badminton shuttlecock.." (thanks wendy).

and it worked!!!! i relaxed, and my shoulder joints opened up, and i melted into a beautiful, stable arch!!! yay!!! i even had fun!! and that was a first! haha!! now i know what all you people are talking about!!! yeah, freefall is fun! this time, instead of being so relieved at pull time that the stress was finally over, i wanted it to last longer!

so, thanks to everyone who posted on my nightmare thread, and thanks for all of the pm's. i really appreciate all of the encouragemant and suggestions i got.

yay!!!! onto level 5!

Jennifer

don't ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive. and then go do that, because what the world needs is people that come alive.

[skydiverbry 0]

Good deal!!!!

And a big congrats on the jump
Bry

--------------------------------------------------
Growing old is mandatory.Growing up is optional!!

D.S.#13(Dudeist Skdiver)

[npgraphicdesign 3]

Congrats!!!

[JohnMitchell 16]

Quote

was getting back on that airplane.....

When you're just starting out, it's very tough to get back on the plane after a bad jump. Sounds like you're finding out what it's like to be at home in the sky.

[apt3studiodiver 0]

had that a little bit of that pre-jump post-weirdness worry myself this weekend.. my dz just got a caravan in for a few months so i came out to jump as much as possible. first and only jump saturday was during high winds. My loading and canopy size made me not penetrate AT ALL. I had reverse flight all the way to landing into the wind. Got me way of DZ but still managed to maneuver past two tree lines and some buildings to an open area, PLF'd (in reverse). And got dragged a bit by the canopy and high winds before I could get on top of it. Got bumped around but came out without a scratch. There was one other person that hit the same field with me with reverse flight as well and we were being tracked on the ground so at least we had a ride waiting at the edge of the field.

Needless to say that today I was a little worried on the first jump today too (definitely payed very close attention to the winds) but still got up there and cranked out my first four way on that jump

www.apt3studios.com
www.musicpromotiononline.com
www.internetcafegaming.com
D.S. # 4321

[NiteQwill 0]

Woooooohoooooo! Oh yea! Glad to see you up there again!

"Fail, fail again. Fail better."
-Samuel Beckett

[shropshire 0]

Very cool .... that's inpsirational.

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[RainbowSmurf 0]

Well done you!!

I am my inner child. It's my outer adult I have trouble connecting with.

[mellow 0]

thanks everybody! i am soooo glad that's behind me.....

can't wait to get up there again. level 5 (and maybe more) on sunday!

Jennifer

don't ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive. and then go do that, because what the world needs is people that come alive.

[simplechris 0]

Congrats on passing lvl 4!!! I did 5 through 10 this past weekend with no problems and then failed 11 lol. I hesitated when my coach went out of the door and it took me awhile to catch him after I dove out. Then I couldn't make a dock because I was side sliding around him. He told me in debrief that he was laughing because he saw me trying to correct it with my arms when it was my legs that were messed up the whole time hahah. Oh well gonna try again soon. Good luck in your progression!!

[rdufokker 6]

It's funny to think what everyone is accustomed to nowadays. Canopies that almost always get you back to the DZ, AFF, tip toe landings. Talk to someone that started on PC's and Static Line. Most of the time 90% of landings were in reverse and even more were PLF's, and after 5 static lines, the next hop and pops up through 15 sec delays were all mostly out of control spinning and tumbling. Ah, those were the good ol days.

Burke

Irony: "the History and Trivia section hijacked by the D.B. Cooper thread"

[fishawk 0]

level 6 is the best its all fun after that

[Ryno118 0]

Its a great feeling when it just clicks and you just feel it. Well done on pushing through the bad times. It only gets better.

Live hard, Live fast, Die broke.
D.S. 118118

[Croc 0]

You go, girl!

"Here's a good specimen of my own wisdom. Something is so, except when it isn't so."

Charles Fort, commenting on the many contradictions of astronomy

[Heatmiser 0]

Way to go! No stress. Every jump is fun! Keep at it, we need lots of sky chicks!

What you say is reflective of your knowledge...HOW ya say it is reflective of your experience. Airtwardo

Someone's going to be spanked! Hopefully, it will be me. Skymama

[tbrown 26]

then my stomach sank. during the 4 hours i waited to get on a load, this overwhelming fear surfaced out of nowhere.

[mellow 0]

thanks for all of the nice comments everyone!

what would i do without this forum during the weekdays while i wait to back to the dz???

i LOVE skydiving.......

Jennifer

don't ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive. and then go do that, because what the world needs is people that come alive.