last blog for English 1101 :(

So this is the last blog I will be posting for English 1101 and I am really sad.  Students taking this class next semester, beware; if you slack off in the middle of the semester, YOU WILL FAIL THE CLASS.  I'm not saying that it is the hardest class in the world but you do have to stay committed and work hard at it.  English 1101 is by far my favorite class this semester and the professor far exceeded my expectations of what a college professor is.  My high school English teacher always warned me that all college professors care about is their paycheck.  They could care less if you fail, as long as they get paid.  That is not the case for Professor Arrington.  She is funny, intriguing, and there was not one boring class all semester.  There are a lot of group assignments which is good because they keep you focused and entertained.  She provides extra credit for those that got a C+ on a presentation because of their partner.  Students should definitely take this course next semester because it teaches you to be the best writer you can be.  The professor grades fairly hard but she also grades fair.  She knows what she's doing and that's why I enjoyed the class so much.

Progress of My Adventure

So far, my adventure has gone just dandy.  A couple weeks ago, I went ziplining with Ariel Grebentsov and Alex Brooks.  There was definitely a lot of stress and nervousness leading up to the first line.  Alex and I made Ariel go first so everybody could watch him do what he did.  After the guide gave him the OK to jump, he just stood there in shock.  After about 2 minutes of asking the guide, "Am I going to die?" or "What if I can't stop?" he finally took the first jump.  Even though he screamed like a little girl and did the complete wrong technique then what the guide told him, he took his "leap of fate" and proved to the rest of us that he conquered his fear of heights.

Ziplining was one of the most adrenaline rushing experiences of my life.  I was having the time of my life until we encountered the bridges....Those sons of bitches scared the piss out of me.  The bridges ranged from 30 feet to 300 feet.  Most of them had platforms to walk on but there were some that only had a cable; like walking on a tightrope.  Alex and I were the last to go on the bridge with the guide right behind us.  The guide then proceeds to jump on the line and make everyone unbalanced about to fall.  Funny right? Douche bag...
Despite of all the horrifying bridges, I still had the time of my life.

Unfortunately we didn't have any money to blow on souvenirs but Ariel did take videos of the zip lines and the bridges.  Thinking of what a "mental adventure" was before I embarked on it definitely made me think about some of the claims I made.  Once we climbed up the platform to the first line, there was no turning back.  The three of us committed to the adventure without knowing the outcome of it.  Of course we knew we weren't going to die, but we could have got seriously hurt.  Ziplining is a true "mental adventure."

THIS ADVENTURE IS SO AWESOME OMG!

    Until a couple weeks ago, my idea of an adventure was anything that was challenging and a new experience.  After reading several blogs and getting feedback on my last blog, I realized I was totally wrong.  What the hell was I thinking skim boarding was an adventure?  So what is an adventure you ask?  An adventure could be a mental, psychological, physical, or spiritual adventure that forces the person to do something that either scares the piss out of them to conquer a fear or that pushes you as far as you can go.

      The adventure that I will partake in will be skydiving.  This combines all four categories of adventures into one.  

• The mental toughness of skydiving is not only preparing to jump off a plane, but also getting onto the plane in the first place.  I don't think anyone could say they were not afraid about skydiving for the first time.  Many people say they are going to do it but never follow through.  I'm thinking that skydiving is going to be like a roller coaster.  As you go up that first gigantic hill in the beginning and hear the "click click click," your just waiting until you get to the top and all of a sudden, you go from 0 to 60 in two seconds and your stomach feels like its in your head.  Same thing with skydiving.  As your approaching 12,000 feet in the plane, your regretting that you ever got on it in the first place. 

• The psychological  toughness of it is more external then the mental part.  As the jump day approaches, you get more and more psyched out about it and start second guessing yourself.  Then your friends and family give you a hard time about it and say things like, "You can't do it," or "What if your parachute doesn't open."  And then your like, "Oh shit, what was I thinking??"  

• The physical part of this adventure is actually getting motivated to sign up for it.  You have to be in good shape to go skydiving if you want to do flips and stuff (which I plan on doing.)  You can't be like 300 pounds because then the parachute wont open and you will die.  I have never done this before or anything even close to it.  It is definitely risk-taking and also could be fatal if something goes wrong.  

• I think the spiritual part is the toughest out of the four categories.  Your basically putting your life in God's hands.  I would pray A LOT before going skydiving because the parachute might not open or the guide that is with you could pass out in the middle of free fall.  There are countless ways to end your life from skydiving which is why most people can't go around and tell people, "I went skydiving at 18 years old."  

When:  Saturday afternoon on October 8 at Atlanta Skydiving Center.

Preparation:

• Need $225 by October 1st to participate in the class
• Have to sit through a six hour class on safety rules and regulations
• I would have to get mentally and physically prepared.
• Eat a light breakfast the morning of the adventure 

Planning:  

    I am going to read a lot about skydiving so I know exactly what to do and when to do it.  I would want to talk to a professional on what the experience is going to be like and if it is safe enough for me.  I would probably want to visit the location prior to the scheduled date just to see what it is like.  I am going to try and get a friend to go with me so it will calm me down and I will feel more comfortable.

Documentation:

    After you experience the thrill of skydiving, they offer you a complete video for like 30 bucks.  They record you the whole way from the time you board the plane, until you jump out and land.  I will share this video with the class on presentation day and also post pictures on Facebook.

Adventure

The word “adventure” can have several different meanings depending on who the person is defining it.  Adventure in my opinion, is a challenging, risk-taking quest that is not on your every day to do list.  Others might consider it as an exciting experience that you may do every day.  An adventure is not necessarily something that is impossible, but it should be out of your comfort zone.  An adventure to one person may not be an adventure to somebody else, because of difficulty or how often you do it. 

            I am the type of person who loves trying new things and experiencing what they are like.  A couple weeks ago, I skim boarded for the first time.  I was at the beach with my friend and his little brother was a beast at skim boarding.  He’s only 14 years old but was riding that thing like a pro.  So I decided I was going to try it out.  Now, I’ve been wake boarding and water skiing and am actually fairly good at it so I figured skim boarding would be no big deal.  I was wrong.  After numerous walkthroughs by my friend’s younger brother, I was finally ready to try it out.  On my first attempt, I ended up going head first into the sand.  So I got up and tried it again.  On my second attempt, I fell on my knee which ripped three layers of skin off and almost got infected because of all the sand that got in it.  By that point, I could barely walk, but I still didn’t give up.  I was determined to master the skim board that has put me through so much pain already.  After a couple more tragic falls, I got it.  I wasn’t going very far but at the same time, I wasn’t falling on my face.  So I went back to the beach house that night thinking of strategies that could allow me to go further.

            The next day I was back at the beach trying it again.  Overnight, the wounds on my knee had scabbed up so it felt a little better to walk.  My first attempt on day two, I reopened the scabs on my knee and added two more.  I was pissed at this time because I never knew riding a skim board could be so frekken hard.  I finally gave up and never tried again.  I have scars on my knee today to prove the pain I went through to skim board.  Most people would not consider this an adventure because it’s not zip lining or cave diving or sky diving.  It’s simply riding a board on the shore of the ocean.  I believe it is an adventure because it was me trying something new and taking the risk of hurting myself severely, which I did.  I also experienced what it was like to have a mouthful of sand, which is not fun either. 

            Even though my friend’s little brother was making me look bad when there were good looking girls everywhere, I still had my dignity.  People who might find this adventurous are those who enjoy doing activities on the water and experiencing something new.  People who would not find this adventurous are those who do this for a living, or people who think only activities that could cause death are adventurous.  The purpose of me writing about this is to make people aware of what an adventure is.  Skim boarding fits my definition of adventure perfectly.  It is challenging, risk-taking, and something you would only do when you’re at the beach, which is only once or twice a year.