Ready, Set, Jump!

the greatest thrill of my life, thus far? it would definitely have to be my skydiving experience from a few years ago. the location site was on a country road 40 minutes north of toronto. i arrived at the parachute school at 8am in the morning. i registered, took an in-class seminar, and before i knew it, i was in the back seat of an airplane, having my parachute loaded into my backpack. i had been patiently awaiting my turn as two skydivers jumped off before me. i was the last jumper. as i dangled my feet at the edge of the plane ready to jump, i remember thinking "you can do this. don't panic. everything will be alright." as the instructor counted one, two, and then...three, i was still in the plane! as soon as he said "three", that was supposed to be my cue to jump out of the airplane! but for some reason, i was frozen in panic. the instructor told me to get back in the airplane. upon landing, he told me that i was too stiff and that i had to loosen up. so, after watching a few more skydivers take their turns and asking the instructor a few more questions, we went back up again. this time around, there were no mistakes. i was more relaxed, jumped off the plane on a count of three, and displayed perfect technique. not bad for an amateur, eh?