“I have to do what?” Standing in the doorway, wind and altitude doing nothing to help my nerves. They say I’m prepared, that I’ll be okay, that I know how to pull the ‘chute string. I wanted this. But I’m scared. Since when is stepping in harder than stepping out?

A homebody through and through, I was deeply averse to anything outside of my comfort zone. The only time I ever moved away from home was for college, and even then, I followed my best friend, so a piece of home was really just a top bunk away.