Certified Torrey Pines Gliderport Student Pilot, Susan Brennan, reporting for duty 👩🏻✈️ I took myself on an adventure yesterday and I wanted to share a little about what led up to this unexpected experience and a few takeaways from it – with the hopes it’ll inspire you to try something new and outside your comfort zone 😃 Long post ahead, but worth a read if you’ve got an idea that hasn’t gone into action yet…
If you’ve ever watched “The Last Holiday” with Queen Latifah and LL Cool J (😊), you’ll know that it’s full of encouragement to live life to the fullest and do things your “everyday self” may not do. When I first saw that movie, something in me sparked when she went base jumping ✨ It wasn’t the activity itself, but the spirit behind it, that felt exciting! Well worth a watch, in my opinion!
Base jumping didn’t beckon me, but the idea of doing something adventurous did, and I had to sort out what that meant to me. Through the years, I’ve gone parasailing and snowboarding, enjoyed zip lining and horseback riding, flown in a single-prop plane, and swam with sharks, but that has been the extent of the risk-filled activities I’ve partaken in. Skydiving is a no from me and so is bungee jumping. Zero appeal. But a hot air balloon ride 🎈or paragliding were giving me a “yoooo hoooo” holler 😆
Given that we have a world-renowned gliderport just 20 minutes away, I figured that seemed like a great opportunity to expose myself to a new adventure – so, off I went (with enthusiasm), surprising even myself.
Wind conditions cooperated and after signing the most thorough “you might die” waiver I’ve ever filled out (and had to record myself acknowledging on video 😳), off we went.
Now, if you’re like me and you have a distaste for heights and motion sickness, I may have already lost you in this post. BUT, if you’re still hangin’ keep going, because it was a very pleasant surprise to get to enjoy the experience without those two things.
I mean, you’re literally running off the edge of a cliff that’s 400-feet in the air to be at the mercy of the winds, getting pulled in different directions as they shift. For added joy (😅), we had a helicopter above us pushing the winds down and shifting our trajectory and we got to experience a few thermals that nudged us as well. BUT, through all of that, I still got to enjoy the serenity of the air, a view of the ocean and cliffs that very few get, and the thrill of flying like a bird – back and forth over the land and sea and floating just above the gorgeous golf course.
On top of all of that, I get to forever enjoy knowing that I overcame some fears and went for it anyway, resulting in some lifelong memories and a fun answer to “so, what have you been up to lately?”
Now, for some additional layers of honesty, I’ll share that I did request to go back early. The flight is normally 20 minutes, I came in after 10. I wasn’t exactly feeling motion sickness, but it was creeping up, and we did have a few swoops during flight that make you stomach drop 🤢 As we were casually gliding past Alicia Keys’ home, I mentioned I’d be ready to land and so we started our descent.
Right after we took off I heard myself saying “Oh, wow! I can see how this could become addicting!” 🤩 and not just a few minutes later, I noticed how completely clenched my hands were (see the zoomed-in shot with the nervous face, which was taken right as we were taking off) 😰 as if I wasn’t safely strapped in and lounging in a bucket seat – acting as if I were solely responsible for holding us both up there.
As we made our way back towards land, I was trying to convince myself to ease up my fists and relax my hips so I could stand upon arrival 😥 It was the most effortless risk activity I’ve ever taken part in (short of a few steps before we took off, I literally sat and the pilot did all the work), and yet it was the most tense I’ve ever felt during one. Upon return to solid ground, I was feeling a bit disheveled, uneasy, and exhausted 🥴 If you’ve ever had an adrenaline rush, it’s like the post-rush feeling your body has during recovery – with everything just attempting to recalibrate 🤪 I had to take a nap to let my body adjust to being back on earth 😴
ALL of that said, the main point of this post is to encourage you to GO FOR IT!!
⚠️ It may be unnerving. Go for it anyway!
⚠️ It may be something new. Go for it anyway!
⚠️ It may be risky. Go for it anyway!
⚠️ It may be unlike you. Go for it anyway!
⚠️ It may be a surprise. Go for it anyway!
Your life is this very moment and while we may not get to do every single thing on our “list,” let’s at least be making a dent along the way!
