Photo used with permission from Skydive Space Center

As an adventurer, I’ve done some pretty adrenaline-inducing activities. From bungee jumping in front of Victoria Falls, walking with lions in South Africa, SCUBA Diving with Sharks in the Great Barrier Reef and (yes) eating jellyfish in Singapore, I’ve had my share of thrills. But one thing was missing from that list – Skydiving.

Skydiving is arguably the ultimate of adventure sports. And for many reasons, I always left it at the bottom of the adventure list.

Why I Was Afraid of Skydiving

I love adventure. But adventure can be downright terrifying! It took all the inner-strength I could muster to convince myself to bungee jump (the second-most adventurous thing I’ve done). Skydiving was no different.

There are a million reasons why one shouldn’t skydive. Ask my mom, she gave me half of them. And I’d be lying to you if I said that I wasn’t afraid to jump. And my reasons to not jump, are probably the same as yours…

• What if the parachute doesn’t open?
• What if I come unclipped from my instructor?
• What if the plane crashes?
• What if I hurt myself landing?
• What if? What if? What if?

Fear is Paralyzing

What if I don’t jump?

Look, this blog, adventureswithben.com is all about taking intelligent risks, challenging yourself, discovering our world and experiencing everything it has to offer. I’ll try (almost) anything once and it was high time to make it skydiving.

Mark Twain once said,

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

 And it’s this mantra, that pretty much convinces me to do everything I do. That and…

Just do it

Jumping from 18,000 Feet

Photo used with permission from Skydive Space Center

So if one was to go skydiving, there’s only one place to do it. Skydive Space Center*. Why? They claim to have the highest jump altitude of any provider – 18,000 feet. How high is 18,000 feet? Mount McKinley, the highest peak in North America is only 2,000 feet higher at  20,320 ft.

So I jumped.

I jumped from an airplane at 18,000 feet.

I did it in celebration of turning 30 this year.

I did it with my family right behind me.

It was fantastic!

How fantastic? Find out in tomorrow’s post.

Follow Skydive Space Center

If you’re visiting Central Florida I would highly recommend you visit Skydive Space Center in Titusville, Florida (a 50-minute drive from Orlando). You can follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

Would you ever go Skydiving? Share by commenting?

I’ll see you out there…!

*Skydive Space Center provided me with a complimentary jump with the purchase of a video package.

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