We Should Skydive to Work

Standing in the doorway of the plane I still felt grounded. The equipment weighed heavily on my back, the floor pressed against my feet, and the straps pulled on my legs and shoulders. Looking down the only thing I saw was the world in a collage of colored dots as I made sure I spotted my target for landing. My phobia of heights and flying suddenly hit me like a railroad train. I could feel my heart beat from all parts of my body. Gradually, my fears turned into excitement as I longed for the freedom of flight, I leapt. Touching nothing but air I felt the exhilarating rush of adrenaline as I soared through the sky at 120 miles per hour. I was in control. My every nerve tingled with excitement. That smooth collage of color miles below may be where I lived but this was where I was most alive! For sixty seconds of eternity I was completely free of all worldly concerns; it was just me and the sky.

Skydiving is an activity and sport in which people jump out of an aircraft, alone or in groups, and land by using a parachute. Because of the sensation of leaping into the air and free-falling some distance before opening their parachutes, skydivers usually experience a rush of adrenaline and then a peaceful sense of well-being. This feeling of calm lasts long after they land on the ground. Before feeling that calm however, my mind was like many people's out there, and I could not understand why I had convinced myself to jump out of a perfectly good airplane. I assumed that only reckless stuntmen skydive, and that it was the most dangerous thing a person could experience. Now that I have actually jumped out of a plane, I can easily disagree with the doubts of non-skydivers. Although skydiving may be seen as dangerous or even careless, it is actually one of the safest extreme sports, even researched to be safer than driving a car.

Why do people see skydiving as particularly dangerous? First of all, be honest: It's not bowling. A skydiver, after all is jumping out of an airplane and hurtling