Alexa
Touchard

Since before I could remember I have had this blind appreciation for life. The concept sounds unoriginal because everyone should be thankful for the gift of life. I have just always adored what it offers. What we do as individuals’ matter, but purely for the caution of other individuals. As a community we have to base our decisions off of how it will affect our loved ones or respected acquaintances in the future. The impact we have on others is the reason we are unable to do what we want when we want. However, we get close.

 

We will not be remembered in 200 years, so why should anyone care what we do? Celebrities or those who make an impact good or bad in history will be remembered. But me, I am one grain of sand. So, I live every moment as if it is my last. I make impulse decisions because I know in the end, I will be appreciative of the adventure I chose to have in my life. I use caution for my loved ones because there is an impact from doing what you please and not considering those around you. I will not move to Switzerland without saying goodbye to my family. But I will go skydiving.

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The day I jumped out of a plane is one of the best days in my life. Doing a flip 14,000 feet out of a 20-foot plane with pure trust of a sheet in a bag will unlock something in your brain that you have never felt before. The two-hour drive was pure adrenaline. My friends and I blasting music with all the windows down talking about how we are about to be wingless birds was unforgettable. But I wasn’t scared. I remember feeling nervous when I was filling out the paperwork. Everything I signed informed me this was my last day on earth.

 

They cannot check parachutes before you use them, every one of them has a chance of not opening. The more papers I read and put my name on was inching me towards terror. Once we signed the paperwork and put on our gear, it started raining. It was raining for an hour. They could not let us jump out while it was raining, so we waited. Waiting only prolongs fear. A couple of my friends almost went home because of the fear. I stayed because I have already paid 180 dollars. We all stayed regardless of the scrambling. Eventually, we hoped on. I was the second on the two-person plane, which means I jump first. Once I sat on the plane I was not scared, all my fear evaporated for those moments. I was ecstatic.

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Until they opened the door. The second his hand touched the handle the whole door was already open. Wind so loud you can only scream when you speak. My tandem partner stood up on the edge of the plane and I was dangling 14,000 feet in the air. The only thing keeping me attached to him was a seatbelt like harness; my life was in his hands. Staring at my feet above absolutely nothing was when I thought, “there is absolutely no going back and if I die, I die.” My partner screams in my ear after 40 seconds of dangling above the world, “Lets do a flip!” As I replied, “Oh heck yes!”

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When we flipped, there was no stomach drop. When we jumped it felt as if the pressure of the air was holding us up. We flipped multiple times; all I could see was the earth then the plane, the earth then the plane. During the free fall, I was not scared, until we kept falling. Those nine seconds of rocketing toward the Colorado landscape felt like forever. Then an instant catch. When the parachute opened, I felt like a god. I could not keep my eyes of the roundness edge of the world and the mountains from a bird’s eye. It was astonishing, I never wanted to land. Once I landed, my feet slowly touched the ground creeping from my toes to my heels. It reminded me of when cartoon fairies land on flowers. And I look to my left and my friend was rocketing to the ground like, heels first sliding at least 10 feet before they both collapsed to the ground. He jumps up and screams “That was amazing!”

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I will go skydiving again because my goal in life is to have no regrets at the end of the day. I believe in bucket lists, and I strive to put every ounce of love and passion I have into everything I dream for. I want to be a journalist because I have love for writing, and I have love for travel. It will allow me to cross of one activity at a time as I make a living. I will not be remembered in 200 years, but I will kick the can knowing I gave myself everything I wanted in life.

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“The race is long, but in the end, its only with yourself.” -Baz Luhrmann