Would it surprise you to know that, when it comes to first-time skydiving, waiting is by far the hardest part? It is!

When we wait for our first experience of freefall, we experience an immense range of emotions. There’s a combination of factors at play: we’re generally (really!) excited, and, because we’re not entirely sure of what skydiving feels like (or what the outcome will be). For mere mortals, that high-octane anticipation usually ends up taking on the flavor of fear. Understandable! That said: most students report that the fear dissolves the very moment their feet leave the door — or, in other words, when the anticipation gives way to full-on experience. So let’s help you work through it and get there!

1. The anticipation begins

The moment you decidee to make a skydive, the anticipation has already sparked a little flame. When you make that reservation and mark your jump date down on your calendar, you’ll start to ask yourself the same questions that jumpers have been asking themselves since the earliest days of the sport. These are classic anticipation questions: What if my parachute doesn’t open? Why am I skydiving when I don’t have to? What if I die? Since statistics state that skydiving is safer now than it has ever been — safer than commuting, even — your reasoning mind knows for certain that you will land under a functioning parachute and you will not die during the course of your jump. You know that you’re skydiving because of the challenge and the novelty that’s perpetuating all this emotion.

2. The anticipation intensifies

Once the day arrives and you drive yourself over to the dropzone for your first skydive, that anticipation is definitely going to escalate. You’re certainly not alone; most first-timers have to take a second or two in the parking lot before they pop out of the car and head to the check-in desk.

Once inside, your preconceived notions of what a dropzone looks and feels like are going to line themselves up against the reality for your inspection. First of all: You and the other skydiving students will be the only scared folks in the place, which is going to feel a little strange, considering. The community of sport skydivers (that jumps out of planes all the time, for fun) will surprise you not only with their super-high comfort level but with their sheer diversity. Our best advice: Soak up those easygoing smiles. Enjoy it!

3. The anticipation crescendoes

With ground school done, your tandem harness carefully affixed, your shoelaces tied and your tandem instructor’s hand on your shoulder, you’ll be headed to the plane. At this point, never have you felt so much anticipation in your entire life. At this point in the timeline, your skydive has ceased to be anidea. Now, it’s a real thing. It’s happening. The anticipation at this point will fill your life to the tiniest corners, like you’ve been poured full of its electric energy. Relish it! This total fullness of presence is why we skydive. Once it peaks — in the door of the aircraft, looking down at the landscape, right before you jump — you’ll never feel anything like it, ever again.

Before you know it, you’ll be standing on the ground. Sure, you’ll be bounding around on a fluffy cloud of joy, wondering why you were so worried in the first place, but that anticipation will have dissolved like the last leavings of a crazy dream.

You owe it to yourself to explore the many flavors of anticipation that wait for you at Skydive Tecumseh. Get in touch with us and book your jump today! We’re antici……pating your visit!