Things that are scarier than jumping out of a plane:

• Stepping off a scooter half an inch from the ground
• Losing my phone right when the bus is leaving
• Thinking they ran out of mango gelato

Guys these were all things that happened to me on Saturday, July 13th that were scarier than jumping out of a plane 14,000 feet in the air and free-falling for a minute with nothing but a parachute to land me safely on the ground.

Okay so that might have been a little scary. But I gotta tell you that scooter was more dangerous than it looked…

Anyway, this past weekend was the craziest, most adventurous weekend of my life. Saturday morning, a group of us headed out at the crack of dawn to catch a shuttle to Picton and jump out of a plane. We booked it with Sydney Skydivers and I highly recommend them! They were really great and patient and even gave us a discount for the pictures and videos since there were so many of us.

Everything happened so quickly after we got there, and I was freaking out the entire time. I couldn’t believe after thinking about it and planning it for so long that this was actually happening. We split into two groups of six, and I was in the second. Which meant that I got to watch all my friends gear up and board the plane and take off.

Which did literally nothing for my nerves.

As soon as their plane went up, it got so real for me. We had no time to think though cause a few minutes later, our group was called to start gearing up. I met my tandem skydiver who talked me through the process and helped me with the harness and the suit. He definitely made me feel a lot calmer.

At that point, I was getting excited but still really anxious. After everyone had their suits on, we went out to see the first group landing which was insane. They looked completely stunned and couldn’t stop laughing or talking or shouting or hugging. Before I knew it, my guy had the camera rolling, giving me a pre-jump interview in which I cleverly disguised my nerves as total badass nonchalance. Then we were boarding the plane and taking off and I knew there was no going back now.

I don’t remember what I was thinking going up in the plane. I know I was really nervous but I was also resigned that this was happening and that acceptance probably eased my jitters a bit. I definitely had one freak-out moment when we were really high above the clouds and I thought we were just about ready to go and it turned out we were only halfway…

Finally, it was time. I was in the back of the plane which meant I was the last one to jump which meant I had to watch all my friends fall into the sky which yeah did not help at all. I don’t know what I was thinking or feeling at that point. All of a sudden, my legs were dangling over the edge, my arms were crossed over my chest, my head was back, and my hips were out, and without a warning we were tumbling into the sky. I had a glimpse of the plane above me getting really small really fast and then we balanced out and I spread out my arms and literally screamed obscenities the whole way down.

What a thrill. There’s nothing like it. I don’t even know how to describe it. As soon as we fell through the clouds and the parachute went up, I wanted to get back in the plane and do it again.

New bucket list: go skydiving in every continent.

We landed and everyone hugged and cheered and laughed and talked and none of us could believe what had just happened. It wasn’t even in 10 in the morning!

After getting a USB wristband with our pictures and videos, we took the shuttle back to Sydney. After a quick pit stop to drop everything off in our rooms and change, we all met up again to catch the ferry to Manly. We had lunch at the Ivanhoe Hotel again (just as good the second time around) and met up with a couple other people walking around the beach.

I walked around the path by the rocks with my two friends, Zoe and Sandra, until we reached the beach on the other side of the bay. Sandra took out a towel and we sat there and talked about life with the setting sun shining bright and warm on the water in front of us.

It was a perfect day.

After a while, Sandra decided to head back with some other people and Zoe and I met up with our other friend Alex to get some gelato. The same mango and white chocolate cone I got last time (this is when I thought they ran out of mango gelato and my heart stopped briefly…) It was late in the evening by then, and we walked around the wharf and climbed down to the rocks in the low tide. It was absolutely beautiful. I really don’t know how I’m gonna leave this place.

It’s crazy how much happened in one day. We crashed pretty hard that night, and woke up the next morning to a beautiful day. After checking out some markets, we took our laptops out to Darling Harbour and laid out in the grass, attempting (unsuccessfully) to write our final papers. That night, Sofiya came back from her trip to the Gold Coast and we went out for dinner at Pancakes on the Rocks with Alex and our other roommate Liz.

But not before making a quick stop at Broadway Tattoos. Yes I have officially joined the club. I’ve been wanting it for a while now, and especially after all the traveling I’ve done this year, I knew it was right. I basically got the top of a compass, the arrow and the N. For me, it’s a symbol to keep moving forward but at the same time, a reminder that I can always come home.

I really love it, and it doesn’t seem real yet cause I’ve spent so many months drawing it with a sharpie when I’m bored but I’m really happy with it and it took all of twenty minutes and it didn’t hurt and I got pancakes afterwards so…

By the way, that’s my recommendation of the week: Pancakes on the Rocks. Just don’t think about it. Go, eat, and be merry.

Anyway. This has technically been the last week of work but since I’ll be around all next week, I’m not saying my goodbyes just yet. I can’t believe how quickly my time has gone. It’s gonna be hard when everyone leaves on Tuesday but I know I’ll be keeping busy with the Awards coming up and before I know it, I’ll be on a plane back to the States too.

Not quite yet though. We still have one last weekend to live it up in this city. And it’s going to be fantastic.

I’ll write again after the Awards while I procrastinate on packing.
Until then lovelies! xx