it's a bird... it's a plane...

it's Michelle! I was a superhero. For about 7 minutes while I fell from the sky. I put my toes over the edge of the open door in the plane and we jumped from 13,000 feet above the ground. It's more of a falling out of the plane, actually. You rock with the tandem instructor-- forward, back, and forward out of the plane. Free-fall lasts for 60 seconds. I wish I could adequately describe the experience. It was absolutely breathtaking... literally. Right after we were out of the plane and falling, I was caught breathless by the surreal nature of it all. I could scarcely believe I was falling through the sky. Then I screamed and laughed, just because that's what you're supposed to do after you jump out of an airplane. I couldn't believe I wasn't afraid. I was truly enjoying the moment. We spun around a few different times during the free-fall. When he pulled the chute I couldn't believe that thrilling fall was over. He kept us in the air longer than any of the other tandem jumpers. I know this because I jumped 2nd and landed 2nd to last out of maybe 6 pairs of people. We soared back and forth through the sky before landing.