Why Do We Skydive?

Why do we skydive?

Skydiving has been around since ancient Chinese times as a form of aerial stunts. Leonardo da Vinci and the Chinese are both credited for creating the parachute, but it was really in the 18th century when France both created it and used it by basically throwing themselves out of planes. Little did anyone know that skydiving would be one of the craziest sports today. Jumping out of a plane two and a half miles up into the sky would not be someone's idea of a normal day. As bad as two and a half miles up in the sky is, try doing it traveling at a rate of one-hundred and sixty miles per hour with just a parachute to save you. To many people this would be a nightmare; but to some of us, it is the biggest thrill of our lives.

Many people will sit and tell me that I am crazy for jumping out of a plane. I would just sit and tell them a quote I heard before I did my jump. "Skydivers know why the birds sing." The experience doesn't feel like you're falling out of a plane, yet more like you are flying. Once you pull the parachute, the result is the most calming feeling. Words cannot even express it. You are totally relaxed and inspired after that chute is pulled.

Another reason why someone would jump out of a plane is that it actually is a stress reliever. You can still call divers crazy; but once you are up in the air flying, you are going to be stress free. The dive inspires such a complete focus of attention that all other worries, aggravations and frustrations are left in the plane once you jump out. When you are either tandem jumping (which is when you are strapped to a professional diver) or you are jumping alone (which requires a lot of training) the inspiration that you have is indescribable. You are flying in the air, with the birds and the clouds, that is something that I don't even think professionals can put into words after their eighth-hundred jump.

As you are in the sky flying at an uncontrollable speed, it feels like you are not even living. The world is this happy, calm, fast, and exhilarating place that you have never even heard of. Once you hit that ground after your jump, the world just snaps back into place. While in your freefall stage of the jump (which is the first eight-hundred feet in your freefall before you pull the chute) your mind is just mush. After that parachute opens up and you all of a sudden stop in mid air to slow down, that is when you see everything around you. You are flying next to birds as if they are your friends. Flying next to clouds, makes you want to just sit there and stay on top of them. You realize that this is a beautiful place, and you honestly never want to leave it. Actually, the parachute part is when you sit there and realize that you just jumped out of a plane, fourteen