Warpaint

I just graduated student status a week ago. Here's what helped me. -Arch. It solves many problems. -Learn the hand signals. You'll get an array of them, know them all. -Slow and smooth. Practice slow and smooth, that way when adrenaline is coursing through you, it actually comes out normal speed. -Know your dive flows. Rehearse them in your head on the ground, and on the way up. Remember that you have to successfully demonstrate the manuevers in each dive to be cleared for the next. No sense in repeating the dive because you forgot what to do. -Shout commands at yourself in free fall. Vocalization is a huge part of memory. While you can barely hear yourself, and your instructors cant hear you at all, it helped me a lot to shout what I should be doing as I was doing it. "STABLE, HEADING, ALTITUDE, CHECK RIGHT, LEGS OUT, GOOD, RIGHT 90, ALTITUDE, FORWARD MOTION, 1, 2, 3, 4, ALTITUDE, LEFT 90" -Don't panic. The instructors are there to help you if you need it all the way through jump 7. Relax, enjoy, have fun. -You will be grounded again if the winds arent right for a student. It's frustrating to spend all day at the drop zone with no jumps, but it happens. Remember it is for your safety. Check wind and weather forecasts over the dropzone to have an idea ahead of time whether or not it makes sense for you to go. My DZ is an hour and a half away... you better believe I know what I'm gonna find there before I even head out.