I can check one off my bucket list !

Hello There My Little Seashells,

So........... I finally did it ! I finally skydived ! Some of life's greatest pleasures happen in the span of seconds and skydiving is one of those things. It was definitely a thrill I was looking for. I went with my roommate and his friend. His friend was there for moral support and we both jumped out of the same plane. And landed on the beach. The weather was perfect, and I landed barefoot in the sand.

You know how you watch other people do it and the whole experience is romanticized ? People are smiling, they are showing you in slow motion ? And you are watching it with music ? It's completely different when you are in that plane and about to jump. It wasn't so idyllic then. There was no soundtrack, just the sound of the motor, and the gust of cold wind in your face when the door is opened.

We did get off to a rough start. We took two runs. On the first plane ride, as we were in the air my roommate noticed that gas was flying out of the tank. I couldn't really see it, but you could definitely smell it. I later heard that the instructors looked distressed. But from where I was sitting you really couldn't see it so at the time I wasn't worried. They landed the plane and fixed the problem, and we went up again.

The view was absolutely beautiful. It was a clear day, and I could see the farms, and then the beach. The ocean from 10,000 feet was something else. While it was beautiful, I couldn't take it all in, as I realized that I also was about to jump and I just wanted to get it over with. I just wanted to finally do it, something I've been thinking about for the past ten years.

The time finally came, and they opened the door. The air was so effing cold. But it didn't matter, because I swear to God that when you are freefalling, the last thing on your mind is how cold you are. Your adrenaline really does kick in and you don't realize the temperature.

Anyway, it was my turn to jump, and I did not look down. I was concentrating on my instructor's directions and then we jumped. We jumped off the plane and the real falling began. I am not gonna lie. I wanted to shit my pants. I screamed like I've never screamed before and did not stop until the parachute opened.

Some people describe it as flying. I disagree. I felt nothing like a bird. I felt like a rock falling and there was no way I was going to flap my wings to get out of it. It caught me off guard because for my whole life my feet have been planted on the ground. Now I was in the air, and I felt like something was very wrong. It was definitely counterintuitive.

But at the same time, it was very thrilling. Then all of a sudden, the instructor opens your chute and you are going back up in the air for a couple of more seconds. I spent most of that time floating in the air processing the freefall. But the view was so beautiful. We were above the ocean. That is definitely a plus of living in California. In fact, I landed on the same beach Ashleigh and I walked on. She used to live so close. Last year when we were frolicking in the sand I never imagined I would skydive onto it.

It all happened so fast, and I think I would do it again. Actually, I would definitely do it again. I don't have any pictures, but I did get it on DVD. I don't know how I did it, but I managed to smile most of the time. The interesting thing was when my parents skydived 18 years ago, another camera man would have to be there to capture it.  On my trip, The tandem instructor filmed us himself. He ended up doing 8 jumps that day. The people that jumped after us were so nice and even hugged us before we jumped and were there to watch the DVDs with us.

Anyways loves, that is the experience in a nutshell. I hope you all get a chance to try it. If you ever come out to California, I will jump with you, or at the very least offer you moral support.

Okay, besitos !