Zackary Meseck jumps out of a plane.

Last year, I decided to jump out of a plane at 13,000 feet in the air to overcome my fear of heights. When I jumped out of a plane last Friday, it was for fun.

For anyone who has jumped from a plane once, and didn’t entirely fall in love with their experience I’d recommend giving it another try. The first time you’re falling out of a plane at 13,000 feet in the air, falling at a rate of approximately 120 miles per hour – it can be pretty hard to remember what the experience was actually like. You’re standing on the edge, looking down at an unnaturally miniature ground, adrenaline is pumping and you’re thinking, “Am I really going to do this?” Then the hard part is over, and all you have to do is lay back, fall, and enjoy the birds-eye view.

Both times I’ve jumped, I went to Skydive the Ranch in Gardiner, New York. This time I jumped with Norwich natives Reuben Roach, Kira Martin, and Jamie Barnes. If you jump, convince your friends to join you and enjoy a group experience unlike any other. I jumped from the plane first out of the group, and because Reuben had his jump recorded, I was able to see myself jumping out of the plane from a different perspective which is pretty incredible.

Before I jumped I had the opportunity to meet with my tandem jumper and go over what to do while we were falling through the air.

The highlights consisted of things like before jumping out, angle your feet off the edge of the plane, lean back like a drunk guy who is peeing, when the tandem jumper waves your arms together put them up in a surrendering position, and when they grab your hand they’ll direct you to the parachute cord, make sure to pull.

Just before we jumped out of the plane, fortunately, I was tested on this information. When asked what to do when my hands are waved back and forth, I said “That’s when I reach back and pull the parachute cord.”

That might have made for an interesting, if not tumultuous ride to the ground. Thankfully the jumper patiently reminded me not to do that, and instead opted to yell, “Pull the chute” when the time was right.

Overall, it was an incredible experience. I could remember so much more this time because I knew what to expect, and I’ll likely return again next year for another surreal ride through the sky. I would highly suggest anyone in the area interested in jumping out of a perfectly good airplane check out Skydive the Ranch.