BWX Cliff Jumping

This is me jumping off of a 40 ft. cliff! If you would have asked me a week ago if I would do such a thing, I would have said, "Are you crazy?" The first day at base camp, there was talk of cliff jumping and I wanted no part of that. I was still trying to get used to the idea of canoeing around the wildnerness for 5 days and jumping off of a cliff was a little over the edge for me, pardon the pun.

Nevertheless, the cliff jumping day came. We paddled about 6 miles to Fish Dance Lake stopping to pick wild blueberries along the way. I had pretty much already made up my mind that I was not going to jump, and that was solidified once we arrived at the cliffs and climbed to the top. After everyone else took their jump, we sat down to eat lunch and take a nap in the shade. The entire time I was laying there, I couldn't think of anything else but the jump. I was letting fear rule my decisions. As I started toying with the idea of jumping, I was scared out of my mind, but at the same time exhilarated at the thought that I could actually do this - I could overcome my fear, take the jump and have an incredible story to tell. As we were packing things up, I knew this was my last chance. It was now or never. I told Melody that I thought that I might want to jump. She yelled over the cliff to the guys that I was going for it. In my head I pictured myself walking right to the edge and jumping off. How hard could that be? Once I reached the edge, my head was still saying, "You can do this", but my body was literally shaking. At that point, my head was ready to jump, but my body wasn't going anywhere. After a brief moment of doubt, I closed my eyes, plugged my nose, and took the plunge!

I received a magnet from a friend that says, "Live a life you are too afraid to be in, but too afraid to not live." This was a great day in my life. I was able to overcome my fear and accomplish that which I would never have envisioned myself doing. This day I truly lived.