The Perfect Banana
When you are skydiving, it is imperative that you become a banana.
Not to brag or anything, but I was told that I made the perfect banana as I tumbled out of a plane at 12,000 feet up in the air. When I say tumbled, I mean that quite literally.
Being the lucky duck that I am, my instructor and I were the last out of the small aircraft, so my instructor made a special request and, rather than jumping out of the open door, the pilot simply rolled the plane over and tipped us right out.
We flipped over to watch as the plane soared over us and righted itself, and for a brief moment, I forgot all about the banana.
Until the strongest gust of wind I've ever felt in my life hit me and took the breath straight out of my lungs.
I couldn't even draw breath to scream.
And then the sight of the gorgeous mountain range and impossibly blue lake beneath me reminded me I was supposed to do something, so I assumed my "perfect" banana position.
Head tipped back on the instructor's shoulder, back arched, knees bent back and feet pulled up behind me.
Banana.
The seconds ticked by as we fell, too fast but somehow too slow. My ears popped. My harness dug bruises into my legs. My safety glasses slid up my cheeks, flapping in the wind.
And then we opened the parachute and the world stood still.
It was just after dawn and the light spilling over the mountains onto the beautiful New Zealand city was breathtaking. From so high, we could see miles and miles of trees, grassy plains, farmland, blue water, and jagged alps.
I took the reigns of the parachute and spun us around and around, making my instructor laugh and my stomach lurch. We pulled tight to slow our decent for a second, trying to make this incredible moment last.
But all too soon, we were approaching landing.
I pulled my legs up as high as I could, and when I wasn't strong enough to get them where they needed to be, I grabbed the handles by my knees to jerk them up even higher like I was sitting on flat ground.
A moment later, that's exactly what I was doing.
We slid into the grass, smooth as butter.
The thing is, I know I'm a bit of an adrenaline junky. I know I'm not the most reliable person to tell people about how safe and normal and incredible this experience was.
Still, I want you to know that I wasn't scared for a single moment. All I felt was exhilaration. The beauty of the scenery, the rush of butterflies in my gut, the inexplicable feeling of weightlessness... I can't accurately describe how alive I felt as I flew.
Flew.
So if you're sitting at home, reading this and saying to yourselves there's no way you'd be brave enough to do something so reckless, I only have one thing to say.
Take the leap.
Not to brag or anything, but I was told that I made the perfect banana as I tumbled out of a plane at 12,000 feet up in the air. When I say tumbled, I mean that quite literally.
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| Cecilia Johnson, NZone Skydiving |
We flipped over to watch as the plane soared over us and righted itself, and for a brief moment, I forgot all about the banana.
Until the strongest gust of wind I've ever felt in my life hit me and took the breath straight out of my lungs.
I couldn't even draw breath to scream.
And then the sight of the gorgeous mountain range and impossibly blue lake beneath me reminded me I was supposed to do something, so I assumed my "perfect" banana position.
Head tipped back on the instructor's shoulder, back arched, knees bent back and feet pulled up behind me.
Banana.
The seconds ticked by as we fell, too fast but somehow too slow. My ears popped. My harness dug bruises into my legs. My safety glasses slid up my cheeks, flapping in the wind.
And then we opened the parachute and the world stood still.
It was just after dawn and the light spilling over the mountains onto the beautiful New Zealand city was breathtaking. From so high, we could see miles and miles of trees, grassy plains, farmland, blue water, and jagged alps.
 |
| More Cecilia |
But all too soon, we were approaching landing.
I pulled my legs up as high as I could, and when I wasn't strong enough to get them where they needed to be, I grabbed the handles by my knees to jerk them up even higher like I was sitting on flat ground.
A moment later, that's exactly what I was doing.
We slid into the grass, smooth as butter.
The thing is, I know I'm a bit of an adrenaline junky. I know I'm not the most reliable person to tell people about how safe and normal and incredible this experience was.
Still, I want you to know that I wasn't scared for a single moment. All I felt was exhilaration. The beauty of the scenery, the rush of butterflies in my gut, the inexplicable feeling of weightlessness... I can't accurately describe how alive I felt as I flew.
Flew.
So if you're sitting at home, reading this and saying to yourselves there's no way you'd be brave enough to do something so reckless, I only have one thing to say.
Take the leap.
Queenstown, New Zealand
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