What is an experience? If I were Dr. Billy Osteen, specializing in getting the “biggest bang for your buck” in life’s experiences, I might lead a life full of experiences, diverse and many, and know how to dig into the best parts of them. But, sitting here after the hike on the bridal path, I find myself empty- exhausted of all energy and maybe a little bit more. The scenic views along the bridal path of the pacific coast and white capped mountains, but then into the darker forest with water beyond were heartbreaking almost. In this light, a life packed full of experiences could be all-together soulless as you drag yourself about from one thing to the next. Even if you get the biggest bang for your buck.
Now a couple days later, I think there’s more to be said about good sleep and being well fed and hydrated. After the bus drive from Tekapo, we settled into Queenstown, which I think is the best town we’ve seen in New Zealand. While I had a skydiving booking Friday morning, I couldn’t handle the nerves, so I went ahead and moved the booking up to the day of. The whole morning my stomach was a mess, and I made the mistake of getting a coffee before. I remember every detail, from check-in, orientation, the bus ride to the drop zone, and suiting up. Just before the flight I met my jump master, Sean, and got to do a little interview about the jump for the recording. Then we boarded, and the flight began. Because I was jumping 15,000 feet, we were the last to leave the plane, leaving plenty of time to get nervous on the way up. One of the things that unsettled me the most was not the huge spike of turbulence on the way up, but actually finding out after asking that my jump master was nervous too. Evidently skydiving every day doesn’t shake the fear totally. I looked out the window at the incredible views and thought we’d be at altitude just to find out we were only half-way there. We kept climbing steadily, and once at 15,000 ft, the jumps started. I will never forget the sound of people getting sucked out of the plane. One after another everybody jumped consistently until I found myself hanging out of the plane door. Once I was locked in, we jumped. Immediately, we shot out of the plane, doing a full roll to look up at the sky before we hurtled towards the ground face down. We did a couple fast spins to the right and the left, one of my requests for the jump master. Because the jump was from 15,000 feet, we had a full 60 seconds to free fall before the parachute was pulled. From there, we glided smoothly towards the ground with incredible views and a butter-smooth landing. Now on the ground, I’d consider that one of the best experiences of my life. I don’t know exactly what made it so good, but it was the exact mid-trip refresher I needed. I will never forget the feeling of rushing towards the clouds at 140ish miles per hour. Just reflecting back, this jump was a chance to get above the day to day routine and do something absolutely incredible. I am so serious, I will probably think about skydiving every day when I wake up.
In summary, I don’t know where I stand on Billy’s “biggest bang for your buck” approach to experiences. I just depends. For me, skydiving was going to be a challenge and it for sure made me nervous, but I think back on it as one of the greatest experiences of my life. I think for sure doing things that make you nervous are so good for you. You need to challenge yourself and break out of the status quo. This trip overall, but especially the skydiving was a chance to explore that and reap the unbelievable benefits.