How Skydiving Taught Me About a Lesson About Diversity and Inclusion
Me and my instructor Skydiving in Southern California.
In January, to celebrate my sister’s birthday, I went skydiving with her. It was my first time I had ever jumped off of a moving airplane at 14,000 feet, it was something so amazing that I would absolutely do it again.
Could you believe that minutes before my jump, as I looked down at the tiny brown dots that were actually buildings beneath me, I thought, who is this person that I am strapped to, that I am entrusting with my life with? I had just met the guy 15 minutes ago!
Flash back to 15 minutes ago, I first meet my instructor, he is male, Caucasian with a slight accent. He looks at me with a very serious look and asks, “Are you nervous?” I, of course, say, “Yes”. He responds, “So am I”.
I felt a cold chill go down my spine.
He then asks, “Is this your first time?”, I say, “Yes it is.” He responds, “Mine too!” and walks away.
I think he was joking.
As I was squatting at the edge of an open window, staring down at 14,000 feet of space, the only thought I had was, ‘I hope this guy knows what he is doing and I don’t end up a stain on the earth, literally’.
I did not care who he voted for a few months ago.
I did not care what religion he was.
I did not care what country he was from.
I did not care what his sexual orientation was.
I did not care what race he was.
I did not care if this person was male or female.
After we landed, I shook his hand, thanked him and enjoyed my adrenaline rush for the rest of the day. I’ll never forget the unmatched rush of floating back down to earth as I reached terminal velocity (120 mph). I’ll never forget completely trusting someone with my life with absolutely no thought of so many of the thoughts that have divided this country.
Maybe everyone should skydive…the world would be a better place. We would learn to trust one another. At 14,000 feet, you have no choice.
Below is the video of my adventure!