Skydiving is like dating. Kinda.

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If I were in a relationship with skydiving, I’d say we’re playing it fast and loose and things are looking like they could get pretty serious. We’ve already been through a lot together, skydiving and I. We’ve shared my first jump, my first stand-up landing (yay!), my first cutaway, my graduations, many beers after a day full of jumping (perhaps one too many sometimes), my highest highs and my lowest lows. Skydiving has seen me nervous, excited, disgruntled, in the midst of a gigantic adrenaline rush, and totally unfiltered. I’ve invested a lot into skydiving, both time and money, and I’m most definitely reaping the rewards from that.

Skydiving really is like being in a relationship. You only get out of it what you put into it, the newness of it is ridiculously addicting, there are ample opportunities to learn more about yourself, and the high you get after a great jump just can’t be beat.

Before you get into any semblance of a serious relationship, however, you have to test the waters. With skydiving, you’re jumping with different instructors, trying out different canopy sizes and learning a bunch of skills that, when you put them all together, will turn you into a safe, and hopefully awesome, skydiver.

Your first solo jump, much like a first date, is a nerve-wracking experience. You’re all excited as you get dressed for the occasion. You double and triple-check everything to make sure it’s in its proper place before you leave. On the way up, you’re thinking of what you need to do, your plans for this particular experience, and naturally, what to do if things go wrong. You review your emergency procedures and before you know it, you’re there. And you jump. You take that leap and after you do, at least at first, there isn’t any stress. Just freedom. But it’s not over. You have to finish. You have to land safely from the clouds so you can do it again.

Once you land, you analyze every single second of the experience. What went well? What didn’t go well? How can you fix the bad stuff and capitalize on the good stuff? As you continue jumping, you continue to learn. What makes you tick? Are you good at receiving feedback and correcting your errors? Are you asking questions to help you get better or are you just smiling and nodding? How long should you wait before you jump again? Are you moving too fast? Are you moving too slow?

Then you graduate. It’s symbolic. Not like breaking up, but like growing up. You technically don’t need the hand-holding. You start to grow in the sport, and if you’re lucky, you have a handful of people who want to teach you and help you grow to be the best skydiver you possibly can.

Your first licensed jump is like that first big milestone in a relationship. You’re a real, live, certified skydiver. It’s totally up to you to save your own life. It’s also up to you to go after what you want and make it happen. If you want to explore a certain style, you have to make it happen, nobody will do it for you. If there is someone you want to jump with, ask them. If there are people that you think fly like total jackasses, avoid them like the plague.

People will talk. Let them. Listen to what they’re saying. You can learn as much on the ground as you can in the sky.

You’ll have bad days. Days when you can’t jump because you’re too broke or the winds are too high, or worse, you’re injured. You’ll have good days, when everything goes smoothly and you’re just a giggly mess because everything is working out so well. You’ll learn your limits, who to avoid and who you want to stay close to. You’ll identify the type of skydiver you want to be and who believes in you enough to help you get there. You’ll think about skydiving constantly, and you’ll look back at your life before skydiving and laugh when you realize that you weren’t even close to living life to it’s fullest until you took that first jump. You’ll struggle with balancing skydiving and the rest of your life, because all you want to do is jump.

I can’t wait to see where things go from here, both on the ground and in the sky.