Capability. Openness. Fear. These were all the things I was considering at 10,000 feet hovering over the open door of a plane.

What are you capable of? How much of what you think you’re capable is restricted by you telling yourself you can’t?

We arrive at the border of Massachusetts and New Hampshire at 10 am. Sign a waiver, watch the training video, wait for the clouds to clear.

Are you willing to push your boundaries? How open are you to trying new things?

We watched as the plane bobbed down the runaway and disappeared into the sky. About fifteen minutes would pass before the parachutes appeared, just small dots again a blue and white background. The way they slowly drifted down to the ground reminded me of watching toy soldiers float to the floor as my brother and I dropped them over the railing when we were young. That was about to be me, a real life toy soldier parachuting through the sky.

How much fear do you hold it in your heart?

It’s hard to describe what it’s actually like falling from the sky. You don’t feel your stomach drop or twitch awake like you do from a dream. You hardly even feel the wind flying past, because in that moment of free falling, you’re weightless.

After the parachute deployed, I felt the adrenaline pulsing through me. I remember looking down and seeing a bird below me, for once feeling as free as I’ve always imagined they do.

You can find genuine release in life through chasing adventures and checking things off your bucket list. If you’ve ever thought about skydiving (or any other adventure for that matter), do it. Never let fear hold you back. The more open you are to trying new things the more your fears will wash away.