Lifestyles Editor takes to the skies with MTSU Skydiving Club

On a beautiful September afternoon, I jumped from a plane at 14,000 feet with the Skydive Club of MTSU at Music City Skydiving in Waverly, Tennessee.

I always imagined skydiving to feel like falling: the gut-flipping lurch that wrenches you out of your sleep and leaves you gasping for air, thankful it was just a dream as your legs spasm and your heartbeat slows.

Despite my fears, skydiving was always something I wanted to do just to prove to myself that I could. I figured if I could work up the courage to jump out of a plane, I could definitely handle interviewing a celebrity or make it through another season of midterms.

So I jumped.

I’m pleased to report that it was nothing like I imagined. After we jumped and my instructor tapped my shoulders, signaling that it was okay for me to stretch my arms out, I was fully in freefall and I’ve never had such an adrenaline high. It hit me then, as the wind pushed me at such speed to drown out my screams, dry my teeth and make my cheeks flap like wings, that humans are bizarre enough to actually choose to jump from planes for fun, and that I would be more than willing to take part in this insanity again if given the chance.

Not many people have gone this route for recreation. In fact, less than 1 percent of the world’s population has skydived, according to the Skydive Club’s vice president Casey Craig.

Part of the Skydive Club’s goal is to raise that number and introduce MTSU students to the sport, with the hopes that they will continue jumping and eventually earn their licenses to conduct solo and tandem jumps.

President Connor Shepard is licensed to skydive alone and has completed 61 jumps to date.

“(The Skydive Club) was originally a Sports Club under Campus Recreation, but as of this semester we are now a special interest group under Student Organizations,” said Shepard. “This allows us to do events that are open to the whole campus.”

The Skydive Club takes daring students on one “back to school” jump per semester at the Music City Skydiving drop zone in Waverly.

For more information, visit the Skydive Club of MTSU’s website on myMT.

For more campus organization news,  follow us at www.mtsusidelines.com, on Facebook at MTSU Sidelines and on Twitter/Instagram at @Sidelines_Life.

To contact Lifestyles editor Rhiannon Gilbert email lifestyles@mtsusidelines.com.