Not quite new to the forums.... (although so far not much more than a silent observer) Not technically new at skydiving... (two tandoms) And yet not quite begun. (Start my AFF this Saturday) I feel it is finally time to make my introduction. Backward style. I knew I wanted to skydive before I was 6 years old, watching parachutes landing on the beach every summer. We would spot them overhead from our backyard or out the window and race out to the sand for a closer look. My head was always in the clouds as a kid... imagining what it would be like to soar out over the ocean with the birds. Then one day almost 20 years later, I woke up and realized: I can be whatever I want. And I went on my first tandem skydive. Was it what I expected? In the sense that it was different from anything I had ever experienced, yes I expected that. In the sense that I developed motion sickness beyond what the dramomine could cure, I was not thrilled. In the sense that I was completely unfearful throughout the whole process, and even on the ground it seemed to have more of a calming effect than one of excitement, I was surprised. I was left with: I am very small. This life is so simple, so insignificant. My circumstances cannot make or break me. There is time. And yet, there is not much time. Make the most of it. Enjoy it. And since then, I have been hanging out at elsinore, talking to people, reading the forums, learning, soaking it in, sustaining my excitement... and saving money. And now finally... this Saturday... AFF1. It can't come soon enough. (Hello, nice to meet you... my name is Kristina...) I sometimes wonder whether all pleasures are not substitutes for joy. ~CS Lewis
