What's the experience of skydiving?

I can finally write my own skydiving story! I don't know how many times I envy other people's skydiving experience online, and I always feel that this is one of the most risky things that the bravest people in the world do. I used to think that I would never dare to risk my life and jump from tens of thousands of feet, but I didn't expect that the moment to challenge my psychological limit came so inadvertently.

The first jump in my life was dedicated to the North Carolina Triangle where I live in the United States. When I told my parents about my decision to skydive, they thought I was stimulated. It's actually quite simple. Two months ago, some of my friends saw a discount on skydiving on Groupon. The original price is 250 dollars. If they are in a group of four, each person only needs 160 dollars. My friends thought it was cheap, so they encouraged me to join them and formed a four-person team. I thought it was all girls who pulled me in. If I don't have the guts to join, wouldn't it drag down our Iron Maiden Corps? I ordered a group purchase on Groupon when I was cruel. So, when I got on the thief boat, I was too nervous to regret it.

Time flies, and soon it's time for us to make an appointment for skydiving. I have been struggling for two months, dreaming that my umbrella bag didn't open and then I woke up. . .

Last Saturday, when I was preparing to go to the skydiving center in Raleigh with anxiety, I was told that there was a thunderstorm in the afternoon and the appointment time was changed to 9 am this Sunday. This is really an argument. This week's waiting, the mood is not as tense as before, and probably "one step ahead and then decline" can also be used here.

At six o'clock on Sunday, I woke up and made an appointment with my friends to leave at half past seven. I thought about whether to have breakfast, because I heard that many people vomited during skydiving, and finally decided to drink some milk cereal to replenish energy. After dinner, I calmed down and went out in a tracksuit. On the way to the skydiving center, the mushroom coolies talked and laughed, which made me feel calm and fearless, but it also made me feel relaxed.

After driving from Durham for more than an hour, I saw an open lawn and guessed that this was where we landed. Sure enough, the center is not far ahead. After we checked in, as people on the Internet said, we were asked to sign the certificate of life and death. On two or three pages, we were asked to sign our initials under more than 20 overlord clauses. In a word, they tried all kinds of compensation possibilities and shirked all the responsibility for the accident in case you and your descendants reported it. It's quite a struggle to think that you would rather sign such an unequal treaty than join it.

Quite a few Americans love skydiving, an extreme sport. After checking in, we waited for nearly an hour before being called. I had expected my skydiving instructor to be a handsome American with a big body, but I didn't expect the real version of Hagrid (the character in Harry Potter) to come at me. But anyway, I think it's quite safe to tie up with such a big giant at an altitude of 10 thousand meters. I asked the coach how many times he parachuted, and he showed me the counter on his wrist, which showed more than 4300 times. He told me that he has been engaged in this work for more than 20 years and enjoys the process every time. My heart is getting more and more confident.

The coach asked me to put on a pair of thick parachute pants, helped me fasten all kinds of equipment (mainly the bag and goggles tied to him), taught me a series of movements after jumping off the plane, and took me on the plane. The plane can seat about 20 people, and the whole cabin is crowded with coaches, students and photographers. According to the regulations, after the plane rises to 13000 feet, everyone should jump off one by one. I sat behind the driver, farthest from the hatch, that is, the last jump or the second jump, so I was lucky to have time to see the reaction of my friends in front. During the whole ascent of the plane, there was a loud roar and a heavy smell of engine oil, which made me a little dizzy. The scenery on the ground is getting smaller and smaller, and the coach keeps paying attention to our rising height through the displacement meter. After rising to 10000 feet, the coach asked me to sit on his lap, helped me tie him together (as if by only four hooks), and then gave me a thumb to show that everything was ready. I am tied up with the coach so tightly that I can feel the coach's stomach falling together when he breathes.

The hatch opened and the biting cool wind blew in, which made me feel even more trembling. In a short time, he reached the predetermined height, and before he came to his senses, the American sitting near the hatch had jumped. I thought everyone would struggle in front of the hatch for a long time, but I didn't expect half the people on the plane to file down in less than a minute. It's our turn to be the first of the four first divers. She shouted "Oh, I totally forgot" and flew out with "Ah ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~". The second child is right in front of me. She grabbed the railing on the hatch, closed her eyes, struggled for a few seconds and jumped out of the hatch. I don't know whether it is voluntary or forced.

I'm next. I went to the hatch and tried to grab the railing. But the coach asked me to pull the shoulder strap, so I obeyed and didn't touch the plane. In less than a second, it seems that the brain jumped into a blank. I saw the photographer smiling at me under me, but I couldn't hear anything. There is wind in my ears, and the wind is so strong that it seems to pierce the eardrum. I open my arms and imagine myself flying, but the sky is very cold. My coat is only wearing a T-shirt, which is crystal clear and cool. Although it was cold, I kept my mouth open all autumn, because once I closed my mouth, I felt unable to breathe, which was quite uncomfortable. The so-called free fall, I don't think the sense of weightlessness is a terrible thing, probably because of the buoyancy of the air, I feel that the speed of falling is not as fast as some roller coasters.

In fact, the falling process only lasted less than 20 seconds. Before I could react and pose for the photographer, the coach opened the parachute. I feel a tightness in my chest and a feeling of being pulled up in an instant. After that, the landing speed became extremely slow, so I could relax and chat with the coach while enjoying the lush landforms and small cattle and sheep in North Carolina. During the descent, the coach also showed me how to control the direction and speed by playing with the parachute, so as to finally land safely in the target area. When I was near the ground, I stretched my legs forward and sat down gently on the ground according to the coach's request.

The first skydiving experience went unexpectedly smoothly, which made me ecstatic. I didn't vomit, I didn't feel particularly uncomfortable, I didn't flinch at the last second, and the most important thing was that I was still alive and awake after jumping from the umbrella! I just did it, no matter how incredible I imagined! I feel extremely happy, because I know that I have overcome my fears and done a great thing, something I never dared to think before and thought I would never do in my life.

In fact, the night before skydiving, I participated in Duke University's annual business challenge finale. A successful alumnus said, "We need to do something that scares us every day!" So I think this should be just the beginning of trying new things and challenging the limits of self!