I have wanted to jump for about a year and a half now spending hours on this site, but never got around jumping. A couple weeks ago I decided that I was going to make it happen this summer and get my A licensee and signed up for AFF jump A at Skydive Twin Cities. I was so excited that I did not sleep the night before. I arrived at the DZ early and was impressed with the quality of instruction that I received. After the long, and sometimes boring, class I was ready to make my first jump. When we went outside to look at the conditions we were not able to go because of high wings that were up to 30 knots. I was very disappointed, but decided to wait it out and see if the wind would die off so that I could jump. After a couple hours of waiting the winds had calmed down to jumpable conditions for the students, but then we were again set back by thick cloud cover. Our instructor approached us and told us that there was a small chance that we would be able to jump today because of the weather, but if we wanted to stay and pray for good conditions then we could. Over the next hour I saw all four of my classmates leave, but I decided to stay there and hope. As more time went by I kept feeling more hopeless and then the clouds cleared, but then the winds came back so we still couldn't jump. It approached 7:30 PM and after 12 hours at the I was ready to go home, but I decided to give it a little more time when my instructor told me that we could take off in 30 minutes if I was up to it. I was pumped and waited until I could get my gear on. As I was waiting it started raining, but passed quick so it was still going to happen. I put all of my gear on and then we got into the plane. We rode the plane up and as we got higher and higher the nerves started to set in. I was starting to have second thoughts, but as soon as that door opened I knew I wanted to jump. I approached to door and took instructions from my instructors. I exited the plane and immediately fell in love. It was one of the greatest feelings ever as I arched and looked up at the plane as it got further and further away. I scanned the horizon and it was an amazing sight. We jumped at around 8:15 so the sun was setting low in the west, bur high enough to be seen centered in between the two layers of clouds. I performed all of the necessary procedures and listened to my instructors commands. I pulled my chute and the opening was very pleasant. I did a canopy control check and started having fun with the steering lines. There were high winds in the sky and my instructor on the radio guided me down beautifully to my target at the DZ where I had a stand up landing. I am now in love with the sport and look forward to improving and jumping over the next couple decades. I was very impressed with the instructors at Skydive Twin Cities as well as the jumpers who were very helpful and encouraging as I waited to jump that day. I am glad to now be a part of the skydiving community and look forward to my skydiving future. I can't wait to use these forums to learn as I am beginning and help others down the road when I have a lot of experience. If anyone would like to comment or make suggestions about my first jump here is the link to the video. Thank you! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRpJ2p3e8KQ "Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die today."
