Yesterday, I broke free of any irrational fears I had and began to question the limitations we place on our individual lives. For generations, we were instructed to do certain things, believe certain things, abide by certain things...and we did so with blind faith. Imagine the possibilities when we begin to remove the blindfolds that limit our visions of our greatest life possible! Imagine the possibilities when we begin to look around and notice the details that surround us! Imagine the possibilities when we overcome our fears that bind us!
Well...yesterday (08-08-09), Bonita Harrison, Falechia Turman (Co-Producers of Self Portrait)others and I decided to embrace the excitement of life!!! We put aside the great agitation & anxiety rooted in unreal messages from our culture, to skydive. My skydiving day began at 7:00 in the morning. I had only 1.5 hours to shower, dress, comb my hair, cook breakfast for my children, bathe my toddlers and wash a load of clothes before my friend Falechia picked me up. I moved with lightning speed so that I would be ready when Falechia arrived. I was ready exactly at 8:30am and was getting ready to call Falechia and tease her for being late, when my doorbell rang. Dang, Falechia's on time! Smile.
We headed to Bonita's home next. Upon discovering the slight delay at Skydive Chicago (the company we skydived with) we decided to stop off for breakfast. Yayyy! Though I cooked breakfast for my children, I only had time to grab a few sliced apples. Check out Falechia's Blog 13 to actually see the pictures of what we ate.
A little after 10:00am we headed to Ottawa Illinois (location of Skydive Chicago). We arrived around 11:30am. When our full group arrived we registered and headed down (shortly afterwards) to a skydiving instructional class. The class lasted less than an hour. The instructor was funny, but shoot...almost everything he said went over my head. I did catch the most important things: arch your body (body position is very important in skydiving), check the altitude (via the wrist equipment they give you) to know when to pull the parachute.
We then were told due to the earlier rain, everything was backed up and we would have a 4 to 5 hr wait. Our wait time exceeded SIX HOURS! But, we made do with great conversation, a trip out to eat, perusing the internet and back and forth walking. Here are some pics while we waited.
SIX HOURS LATER! We were introduced to our tandem jumpmasters (the professional skydivers we would harness to) and our videographers (if we chose that package). I received further directions from my tandem jumpmaster; David. Not paying attention in class (which is so unlike me; probably too excited!!!) I payed very close attention to what David told me. Brief tutorial completed...David led me to the plane. I was the last to go on...which meant I was the first to go out. YIKES! Actually, sitting in the front is the best seat you can have...because you are among the first to see when the airplane doors open. Imagine my surprise when the plane elevated to about 8,000 feet and the doors opened. I caught a glimpse of how far we were from the ground and a small scream escaped. Then the doors closed and the plane continued rising for over 5,000 more feet. When the doors opened again...I screamed again!!! Falechia said my screaming scared her. Bonita (who sat way in the back and was the last to jump) said she heard me way in the back!
A few more lessons from Tandem Jumpmaster David, and I was ready to jump. By the way Tandem skydiving just means an inexperienced diver is paired and attached to an experienced diver.
Check out the video of my skydiving experience. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKV4IyFDlFc The first two minutes are 'still' photographs and the remaining minutes are the actual video. The videographers seemed like spidermen as they climbed and hung onto the sides of the plane. My videographer was named Jennifer. Jennifer jumped and soared in the air next to me, capturing some great footage. She said smile...so I did, but then my smile became plastered on my face. The wind literally knocked my facial features around, distorting my face grotesquely and making my skin flap in the wind. Goodness!!
But let me tell you....THIS WAS THE MOST AMAZING EXPERIENCE!! The feeling of gliding through the sky and the freedom felt is unlike anything I've ever experienced!!! The beauty and wonder that surrounded me was breathtaking! The heat index approached 100 degrees, so the strong gusts of wind, though a bit stabilizing, rushing across my skin was a very unique sensation. Actually flying in the sky...like birds...made me feel like an all powerful human being. You literally forget about stress and worries, while your mind wanders to the peaks of its creative power. I became one with the sky while skydiving and literally felt bothered that I had to land. Side note...the tandem jumpmaster kept tapping my head and giving my hand signals to pull the parachute...but I was frozen in my exhilaration from the moment to take heed. Thank God, he jumped with me!!
The site below will list two minutes of random (distorted facial figures) photos of my skydiving experience...and then the video will begin. Enjoy!
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In following suit with Bonita & Falechia, I will continue to blog tomorrow regarding my progress in moving towards a healthier life.
Treena Renee Glover
Producer and Co-Host of Self Portrait
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