Skydiving: Lesson 1 (revision of Following the Wind)

The 6 am wakeup call on her 17th birthday put so many thoughts into Elsie's head. What do I wear skydiving? How kind of rules will there be? Whats the plane like? What kind of - her brother barged in, “who would want to jump out of a perfrectly good airplane?!”

She shut the door in his face and finished getting ready. Elsie decided to wear jean shorts, a grey t-shit and black converse.

"Good enough," she thought.

Today her dad was taking her skydiving. Just the two of them, driving 45 minutes to the skydiving center. This was the kind of things they did together. Thrill seekers or adrenaline junkies, people called them.

Driving down the highway, a little too fast with the windows down, Elsie laid her head back and let the wind surround her. It was warm and sunny, the music was loud and they were seeking adventure. This was going to be a great birthday.

When they pulled into the dirt and gravel driveway, Elsie looked out the window at the grungy wear house called the LowHigh Skydive Center. They walked inside and Elsie noticed it was dirty, dated and covered in the most random this she had ever seen. There were torn parachutes and kites hanging from the ceiling. There were flags from all over the world. there were hundreds of pictures of people skydiving. There were signs like "if at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you!" Elise was thrilled.

She could smell the gasoline from the plane. She watched the instructors hanging out on the couches swapping stories. She watched the videographers editing videos in their lockers. She was jumped folding and rolling their parachutes for their next jump. She could see the nerves on the faces of others, but she was beyond excited.

Bruce, her jump buddy, got her a jumpsuit and harness. "So much for caring about what to wear," she thought.

All buckled, they walked onto the smallest airplane Elsie had ever seen. It had a big roll up door, and two long benches on either side. They took off. When they got to their altitude of 13,000 feet, Bruce buckled his harness to hers (he had the parachute) and they waddled to the door. It wasn't far, because Elsie was first. She made eye contact with her dad, gave him her biggest smile, and jumped

Silence, then the stomach drop rush of falling from the sky hit. As fast as it came it was gone. Then rush of the wind past her ears; so loud. She felt its resistance as she fell, like it was saving her from falling too fast. Then the parachute cord was pulled, she watched it billow and unfold as the wind filled it entirely.

This was the moment her life changed, and she knew it. Elsie had finally found the thrill her soul had been searching for. Since 12 years old she knew she didn't want to go to college, so she was unsure of her future.

“Skydiving, this is my future.” she sighed in contentment as they floated back to the ground.