oxymoron

Hey guys, I finally took my first jump out of a perfectly good airplane. When I started looking into going skydiving, I was pretty sure I didn't want to commit my time and money to getting a license. I figured I'd go with a nice quick IAD course, or maybe even a tandem jump. But yesterday, enjoying the view while flying that beautiful canopy I resigned myself to the fact that there's no way I could stop now. I'll probably stop yearning for another jump when I stop thinking about girls. A few weeks ago I signed up for the PFF course + first solo jump at Niagara Skydive. To my pleasant surprise I was told there'd be an unadvertised additional free IAD jump before the first PFF jump. The whole experience was like nothing I'd ever done before, and the staff and facilities are top-notch (thanks guys!). I remember getting to 3,500', the door opening and our jumpmaster telling me to stick my hand out and feel the wind. At that point I realized that in a few seconds I'd have to get out of the plane and move away from the door while holding on to the wing strut. "You've got to be fucking kidding me" was my only thought. When I started the course I was mentally prepared for having to jump out of a moving airplane. In fact, I've been able to mull it over for years and get comfortable with the idea. The idea of hanging on to a moving airplane, though, is something totally different. I was so surprised when everything went better than I expected. Climbing on to that first step, then moving up the wing strut and finally hanging on to the plane in the airstream.. I found myself thinking 'holy crap, this is fun!' Letting go (my one regret is not looking up at the plane to watch it fly away), there was no 'sinking' feeling like you get when, say, bungee jumping. Perhaps because you already have so much forward momentum and the fact that you have only 3-4 seconds before your canopy deploys. I froze for a second, then felt myself in a turn and the training kicked in. "Arch!" I thought, but as my brain was trying to tell my muscles what to do in this unfamiliar environment I felt the softest tug and found a big, beautiful canopy open above me. Had to kick out of 3-4 line twists, but that went smoothly thanks to the incessant drilling during training. It's at this point that I realized I found a new way to drain my bank account balance for (hopefully) the rest of my life :) Sitting under that canopy and enjoying the view was just so peaceful and felt (oddly enough) so natural that I was just happy that I finally went out and did it instead of putting it off. My life is mostly school (university, undergrad) and work (nothing exciting there) so there's something to be said about taking your first step in a brand new hobby that challenges you physically and mentally (and how!), learning more and more every day you go to the drop zone. Excuse the longish post, in my defense I'd like you to think about your very first jump and tell me you weren't just as excited :) I think I can learn a lot from all the experienced jumpers and instructors on these forums, and hopefully eventually I'll be able to contribute something back. 'Blessed are those who can laugh at themselves, for they shall never cease to be amused.'