We are naturally drawn to causes that resonate with our personal experiences. In grade 3, my guidance counsellor, Ms. Mac, was a kind soul. Some of my earliest memories of learning come from the weekly sessions she held with my class. She shared several life lessons, like the importance of kitchen safety – never leave pot handles hanging over the stove – to the right way to wash your hair. “Don’t use your nails to dig at your scalp,” she’d say. “Use your fingertips instead.” I soaked up everything she said like a sponge. I remember rushing home to tell my mother the ‘correct’ way to wash my hair. Even now, every time I wash my hair and massage my scalp with my fingertips, I think of her.
Then, suddenly, Ms. Mac became very ill. Before I knew it, I was on a bus with a delegation from my primary school, travelling halfway across Jamaica to attend her funeral. If my memory is correct, she had lost her battle with cancer.
As I grew older, I encountered similar stories. My grandfather succumbed to cancer, and so did the mother of a friend in the community as well as a junior student in high school. Raising awareness about cancer is important to me. It is the leading cause of death worldwide, yet early detection through regular screening can significantly reduce mortality. I don’t profess to be knowledgeable about cancer but I know it’s something I’m keen to support the fight.
I don’t remember precisely when I thought about skydiving, but it was sometime in my teenage years that it made my bucket list. A few years ago, I saw a video of Will Smith jumping out of a plane for his 50th birthday and thought, “Now that my birthday twin has done it, I have to!” Not long after, when I first moved to the UK, I joined the Manchester University Skydiving Society. I even checked out indoor skydiving facilities around Manchester and started to budget for it. Then COVID hit, and like many other plans, skydiving took the back burner. This year, I decided it was time!
In May 2024, I completed a 15-mile charity walk for the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity. Shortly afterward, while browsing their website, I came across…skydiving! An entire page dedicated to people who wanted to raise money for charity by jumping out of a plane. I hadn’t even considered doing these two things together before. And just like that, an unexpected discovery fit right in with a cause I’m passionate about.
To merge the two, I signed up for the fundraising option and even convinced a friend to join me. Together, we raised over £1000 from friends, family, and coworkers. Leading up to the big day, I avoided googling anything about skydiving – I didn’t want to read any reviews or negative experiences. I stuck to the content shared by the organiser. But the night before, I couldn’t sleep! I kept asking myself, “Why would you agree to do this?” The fear of the unknown started creeping in.
As we waited at the Netheravon airfield for the weather to improve, I calmed down a little…until my instructor pushed us out of the aircraft. I screamed my lungs out. For 30 seconds, it was pure chaos. Then, suddenly it was calm again. What do you do when you’re falling from the sky? Absolutely nothing.
Here are some snaps from my experience. Daring, I know.
