Dubai Post 51: I Can’t Believe I Just Jumped

Getting strapped up, the nerves slowly kicked in. 

Three months ago I was having a discussion with my family how I would never go bungee jumping or sky diving.  Fast forward two and half months and Sumit was proposing the idea of bungee jumping during our Nepal trip.  I immediately shot down the idea thinking nothing would come of it.  Next thing I know we are booking a reservation for the Last Resort. 

While I was making the reservation, I made sure someone could back out on the spot to cover myself.  However as the week progressed on, more and more people told me I should attempt the jump.  By the time it was week of our trip, I was researching bungee jumping statistics, watching 100 YouTube videos a day and practicing my form in front of a mirror.  It was during this time that I was most terrified throughout the entire process.

I was about to step up to the edge. 

It was still a few days prior to the jump and my hands would  shake at the thought of it.  I then spoke to my friend from college, Brandon Winter, who provided me with words of encouragement along with a YouTube video.  I must have watched this thing 20 times in the three days leading up to the jump.  I was even reciting it the day of the jump as I walked onto the bridge. However, even as we landed in Nepal, I was not entirely confident that I would be able to jump.

Don't look down. 

I figured I would wake up with butterflies in my stomach on the morning of the jump.  However, there was nothing, I felt fine.  I then called my family as it was my grandmother’s funeral that day and spoke with my sisters.  I was sitting on the balcony, watching the sun rise over the Himalayas and they both told me to jump.  That was when I was 100% confident I was going to be able to do it.   For the remainder of the day I was taking the advice of my old Trumbull friend, Zac Wessler, be excited rather than terrified.

At this point, it was all but over. 

If you read my canyoning post you know that the bungee jump was our last activity of the day.  Of course I was the last one to jump out of the four of us (Bungee master selected us by weight).  One by one I watched each member of our group throw themselves off the ledge.  I am proud to say that I was not the most terrified at this point.  I was not even scared as I was getting strapped up.  Nerves kicked in for about a minute as I was in the chair.  Bungee strapped on and I knew damn well that I was doing it. 

The bungee master pulled me up and one more time I repeated to myself “Let me show you how great I am” (Watch the YouTube video).  I then said F*** it, crawled under the bar and walked like a penguin up to the ledge.  I thought I was going to have so many thoughts running through my brain but everything went blank.   All I heard was 3, 2, 1 bungee…

3, 2, 1.

Phew, the rope worked. 

I then propelled myself off the bridge looking straight forward.  For a mere three seconds I felt entirely free but could not usher a sound.  I then felt the pressure of the cord and was then snapped back up like a Venus fly trap.  I finally could breathe again and started to scream as I was having the time of my life.  The high of the experience was like nothing I had ever felt before.  It simply was an amazing once in a life time opportunity. 

There was a sense of satisfaction walking by
on our way out. 

P.S. Everyone should do this once in your life.  My recommendation would be somewhere exotic like Nepal, New Zealand or South Africa.  The feeling you get is unrivaled compared to anything else. 

After the jump we immediately started to celebrate.