Jump Off a Cliff

“But, for some reason, I jumped anyway — though only after doing some shallow diving to ensure that the water was deep enough. I can’t really explain what it felt like. It’s like letting go in a simultaneously voluntary and involuntary way — you jump, but you have no control over how you land. You can’t hear anything — your own yelling, your friends screaming, a random stranger we met on the trail whooping.”

“After all that, Alison and I climbed to the top for our jumps. Lily had shown me that anticipation is the worst part of fear. I went straight for it; jumping at least three times higher than anything I’ve ever launched myself off before. Typical of me, an inordinate number of existential thoughts rushed into my mind and I didn’t give one thought to what to do with my body.”