The Jump

A gush of breeze blew past me as I stood, atop a diving board. Six meters under my feet was the icy, cold Green Lake. As I took in my surroundings, my fear of heights kicked in. I could hear the splash of other people diving. The occasional chirping of birds. I could feel the water running down my skin.

I inched forward. I looked down. All I could see was the shimmering water. My heart was pounding concrete. I could almost feel the little pulses of energy racing up and down my body. My eyes were closed, my knees bent, my heart pounding away. My feet left the diving board. My body was airborne…

I went slightly up, and then came plummeting down like a bullet. Those five seconds I was airborne, were the longest five seconds I have experienced in my life. It felt like I was watching a ‘super slow motion’ video. The adrenaline was rushing through my body. I was coming down straight.

After what seemed like an eternity, my two toes touched the water. I came crashing down into the lake, at full speed and went deep down. My lungs felt like they were going to explode from the sudden change in pressure. I could hear nothing, only gurgling sounds. I could see nothing, only the greenish water.

I slowly bobbed up to the surface, with a huge grin on my face. I quickly swam back to the platform, where my dad was waiting for me. I felt great, not only because I had jumped, but because I had overcome a challenge.

I quickly ran to the queue and waited for my turn again. I could not believe that I had spent so much time convincing myself to jump – it was so fun. The time I had wasted, up there on the diving board, I could have enjoyed the jump multiple times.

Earlier that day, I had wanted to go kayaking. We stood in the queue for ten minutes and decided it was not worthwhile. We had also never swum in Green Lake before, so my dad persuaded me. We seized the opportunity and got into the water. If it was not for the wait or for my dad, I would never have been able to overcome my fear of heights.

That jump changed me forever. Whenever I feel scared to do something, I think about how I persevered in this incident and it always reassures me that everything will be fine.

Now, whenever I go back to Green Lake, I will always make that jump. After all, that may have been the most important leap in my life.