Bucket List

This is such a cliche blog topic it almost makes me want to vomit just thinking about it. But, here I am, writing about it again anyway.

See here’s the thing, everyone goes through these periods where they become acutely aware of their own mortality – as skydivers, this has a tendency to creep up on us from time to time.

I’ve written pseudo bucket lists before – participated in blogger challenges like the “30 before 30″ list and all the jazz – but to me, those things are a bit self-centered (yes, I realize that, at it’s core, blogging is pretty self-centered, but bear with me here if you could).

This time of the year I have a tendency to get pretty reflective – to look back at the year, what I’ve accomplished vs. what I set out to do. I’m not one for “new year’s resolutions,” but I do like to set goals for myself just to keep me going. At the beginning of the year, I’m not going to lie, I was struggling with a lot. My heart and soul was focused on fixing what was wrong inside me and in the environment surrounding me, and I have to admit, as the end of 2011 is bearing down, I came out on top. Take that 2011.

Along with the changes, the accomplishments and the overall happiness that surrounds my world, December has brought on reflections not of myself, but of others in need.

As you’re all very aware, one of the things I pride myself on is the yearly Jump for Diabetes event that helps raise funds for the Juvenile Diabetes Research foundation and support diabetes research. It’s a cause close to my heart, and given that my husband is the founder of this wonderful event, it makes me even prouder that our little family is able to do something to give back every year.

(Small plug here, but if you want to continue to support our cause, you can do so throughout the year at http://jdrfillinois.org and when you click Donate Now, enter Jump for Diabetes in the special instructions. Help us get to our goal and find a cure for diabetes!)

With that, I’ve realized that a true bucket list is about more than what you want to accomplish, the places you want to visit and things you want to purchase by a set date, it’s about how you want to live your life and the ways you want to leave your mark on the world before you pass on.

I’m a firm believer that bucket lists are not set in stone, rather, they’re living, breathing documents that allow us to focus our energies on those things we want to accomplish in our lives. If thought through properly, a bucket list can set the tone for your adult life, provide a foundation for where you want to go, and give you motivation to achieve those goals. It’s not simply a list of to-dos, but a guide for who you want to become.

So below, in no particular order (hence, this list is not numbered) are a few of those things I see as bucket list material. Maybe one day I’ll sit down and draft my bucket list in full and post it here for all to see – but then, it’s seems rather “finalized,” and I like the idea of always being able to alter your path as changes occur in your life. For now, you get to see a few of my goals for living a positive, enjoyable life I can be proud to call mine.

Personally impact one person’s life in a positive way.

Give back in ways that life has provided for me (through mentorship, career and skydiving support, etc)

Spend one holiday season volunteering.

Travel.

Establish a not-for-profit and spread the word (this one, though accomplished, will be ongoing throughout my life).

Appreciate. (My husband, my extended family, my career, my health, my friends – appreciate all the good life has to offer, even when times are tough)

Commit to health and fitness with green smoothies, limited processed foods, regular workouts, etc.

Give animals in need a home: always adopt from rescue organizations and foster homes.

Don’t miss out on great opportunities because of obligation. Carpe diem – live life to it’s fullest.

Spend every day as if it might be the last – with friends, family and love in my heart.

I have to be honest, I really wanted to put something on this list about living out my wedding vows, and loving my husband. But truth be told, I don’t need to put that on a list, it’s something that comes completely natural to me. Appreciate… even when times are tough, seemed more appropriate, as I, like many people, struggle with focusing on the bad, even when so many things are good and right in my life.

What are some things you’d put on your bucket list? They can be specific or broad, but how do you want to live your life? How do you see your future playing out?

Love and blue skies!

Ashley

Being something vs. being someone

I think we as individuals sometimes have a hard time distinguishing between wanting to be someone and wanting to be something.

Growing up, everyone always asks us what we want to “be” as adults. Some kids say firefighters or teachers (because they have no idea at the time that saying nuclear physicist is actually the more profitable answer), in my day it was marine biologist – that must have been a trend for kids from Michigan who liked animals and wanted an excuse to move to Florida.

From the time we start school we’re encouaged to try to be someone – to be successful and make something of our lives.

Then, the Internet came crashing down around us. Our entire lives consumed by technology and a constant need to stay connected. After all, if you’re more than 5 feet away from your iPhone at any given time you won’t be in the “know.” (Note: this is pretty accurate, actually, given the amount of information there is to consume these days.)

At the beginning, everyone who had something to say was a thought leader. Now, independent thought seems to be overshadowed by the immense amount of sharing that’s going on. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. In fact, I share quite frequently when I see a piece of information that I think my friends/family/contacts would be interested to know about.

What you’re also seeing a lot of these days are people who are out there not just trying to be someone, through thoughtful, meaningful actions, but who want to be something – the self-proclaimed “experts” of the world, if you will.

That’s what you see most of on the web, people who are the social media blogger, the person with the most followers on Twitter, whatever. It’s more about what they have become in status than who they are as a person. You see variations of this in real life too, where people want to be the athlete, the inventor, the skydiver, but sometimes I wonder if people lose a bit of themselves in the process of becoming someTHING.

Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a statement I’m making, it’s more of a broad question. DO people lose themselves in the race to become better, faster, stronger than their “opponents.” Does life become individual competition, rather than a team sport?

Given that my occupation, my livelihood depends on the existence of social media, I see my fair share of comments, posts, conversations that make me ponder this even further. Some days there’s this air of complete and total community – everyone is out to help everyone else in their lives. Sharing is about providing assistance to others, to truly share, rather than providing information in order to be the “expert.” Other days, it seems all everyone can talk about is themselves, and how great they are, and where they’ve gotten, despite who they had to walk over to get there.

Granted, I see a very small sliver of the overall picture, but I can’t help but wonder, if sometimes, people really do get so wrapped up in being something, they’ve forgotten what it’s like to be someone: themselves.

Cheers!

Ashley

Ordinary vs. Extraordinary

I don’t want to be ordinary. Clearly, being a blogging, traveling, yoga practicing, skydiver I’m not your average 20-something woman.

But, on the other side of the coin – strange as this may sound coming out of the mouth of a skydiver – I don’t want to be too extraordinary either.

I love the diversity in my life, and to give everything I have to one thing, to “become the sport,” just isn’t something that’s on my radar. Now, maybe with the right incentives we could talk, but I’m not willing to give up my relationships and activities completely – these things make me who I am, after all.

On top of all that, I don’t see the benefit of being Ms. Skydiving herself. A lot of people have referred to me as “The Skydive Chick” in the past and it gives me the shivers. I mean, I certainly don’t refer to myself as that, Skydive Chick is just the name of my blog. Hi, I’m Ashley. Nice to meet you!

Though the recognition for my blogging is nice, because it does take an element of sacrifice and work, even though it’s totally badass fun at the same time, but I’m not here to become something that I’m not. I do like that y’all seem to appreciate what I have to share, that’s the whole point.

I’m off track here a little….

My point is this: I thoroughly enjoy leading a life that’s out of the ordinary. I’m not bored, like a lot of my friends, I get opportunities that many may never even dream of (huge perk of living outside the ordinary, in my book), I get to meet some of the most fabulous people in the world, and it always gives me something to do, plan for and talk about. But I don’t think becoming extraordinary (like the fictitious Ms. Skydiving I mentioned above) would do me any favors either.

I like being somewhat grounded (not in the literal, skydiving sense though, that’s kinda killing me slowly right now), being able to listen to other people, hear their stories, rather than just being asked to regurgitate mine all the time. I never want anything to take away from my ability to enjoy the company and stories of others. That’s a big part of the skydiving world, after all.

From spending time with those self-proclaimed sky gods out there, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to notice that they are frequently bored with other people and often wait (impatiently) to tell their story instead, because their lives are better.

Never, do I want to start behaving that way, or EVER actually believing that I’m better. Yikes!

So call me, Ms. Just Left of Ordinary and call it a day. Or, my preference, call me Ashley, and put me in my place as needed.

Love and Blue Skies!

Ashley

UPDATE: Hey guys, so I wanted to give a little mini-update to the post, mostly to provide some clarification here. My word choice may not have been the best with the whole ordinary vs. extraordinary thing.  My point here can best be summed up by this line from above:

“From spending time with those self-proclaimed sky gods out there, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to notice that they are frequently bored with other people and often wait (impatiently) to tell their story instead, because their lives are better. Never, do I want to start behaving that way, or EVER actually believing that I’m better. Yikes!”

I do, however, want to put everything I have into everything I do…go balls to the wall as the lovely Sydney put it below. This has always been my mentality in life. It’s just not my style to put all my eggs in one basket, if you will. I’m a diverse creature, and I like it that way. Yes, speaking in metaphor can be confusing, turns out.

So it’s not so much about not wanting to be great, but it’s about not wanting to become “that girl” in the process. I like being close to the ground (so to speak) while spending as much time at 14,000 as i can…In the end, I just want to be me, and be good at it. After all, aren’t we all here to become as great as we can at everything we do?

How Skydiving Changed My Life

This is one of my favorite columns in Parachutist Magazine and one of those things I make time to read in every issue. Some of these people have incredible stories of how they got into the sport and how being a skydiver has completely changed their lives.

Looking back over the year and change that I’ve been a part of this sport and a part of the community, I can add myself to that list of people who feel like their lives have been completely turned upside down since skydiving entered their life. I can also say that my life has changed for the better, and in some ways, I feel like it saved me.

Though my story is sort of ho-hum when you look at those featured in Parachutist, so instead of submitting to the magazine, I thought I’d share right here on the blog .

For those who have been following along since day 1, this may not come as much of a surprise, but for those who have picked up in the middle, you might pick up a thing or two about my journey in this crazy world of skydiving.

________________

Skydiving has changed my life in so many ways, it’s hard to know where to begin. I suppose I’ll start at the beginning (that would make sense…right?).

In my early 20s all that mattered to me was my career. My friends from college were scattered across the country and none of us were making enough money yet to visit each other, so rather than spend time building a new life, I spent it behind a computer, working my way to the top. My efforts did not go unrewarded. Promotions happened frequently and I earned my position in social media marketing through hard work and dedication to my company and my clients.

No regrets there. I worked hard for my successes and am proud of where those efforts have taken me. But something was missing. I wasn’t passionate about my life. I got up in the morning because I knew I had to in order to get ahead, in order to pay the bills, in order to save enough money to take trips to see my friends that I missed so dearly. I worked hard to find myself again, blogging about life and the “adventures” I had meeting new people and traveling for work, but in the end, these corporate trips were not sufficiently scratching the itch that the travel bug was constantly giving me. So 3 years into my career I took my first real vacation, one in which I made my first skydive, and had my eyes opened to what life really has to offer – what it means to truly be alive. It showed me what I was missing, that there’s more to life than getting ahead in the corporate world, that life needs more facets than just career success.

Skydiving presented a new personal challenge, and a new challenge is just what I needed…something to keep me on my toes, something to remind me that I’m alive! It showed me just how strong I am, just how much I am capable of overcoming – it showed me that I can do just about anything I set my mind to. Never did I imagine that I would learn so much about myself in such a small amount of time. Skydiving freed my soul from the confines of those things that are proper in life, the boundaries and the you shoulds that are forced upon you throughout your childhood and into your adult life. Skydiving showed me that you never really have to grow up!

Though it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows, let me tell you that. Skydiving presented some hard lessons along the way too. I quickly learned what it means to not be invincible, that bad things can happen to anyone if you get complacent. These lessons presented themselves in the sky and on the ground. The community surrounding the sport taught me the importance of heightened awareness – keep your eyes and heart open, be prepared for the unexpected, you never know when a fellow jumper might make that wrong turn under canopy, but you might be surprised with whom you make deeper connections. For me, I was able to meet, fall in love with, and get engaged to my best friend and the love of my life because I was involved in skydiving and open to new experiences. I’ve also been able to meet and connect with a number of incredible skydivers with hearts larger than even SkyGod’s ego. Experiences I wouldn’t trade for the world!

Above all else, skydiving has taught me the importance of being a part of something greater than myself. It’s shown me how critical the community around you is to your well-being. There needs to be a sense of trust and understanding with those whom you share the sky. As skydivers, we inherently understand what makes each other tick, our common bond is one that the majority of the world will never understand. I’ve found that this sense of togetherness is strengthened when the community joins to support a cause that goes beyond that of the individual skydiver and truly tugs at your soul. Coordinating Jump for Diabetes this year gave me a glimpse of the immense generosity of the individuals within the skydiving community. It was so incredibly heart-warming to see so many manufactures, skydivers and their family and friends come out to support a cause that is greater than all of us combined. It speaks volumes about the type of people the sport attracts, and further solidifies why I continue to be drawn to the skydiving community.

What all these lessons from the world of skydiving have in common is this: be passionate. Having passion for something, anything (whether it’s skydiving, or tending a garden, or raising a family, or a multitude of life’s treasures) makes life fulfilling. Passion gives you something to live for, it provides motivation, it gives you a better sense of who you are as a person; a living, breathing human being who is on this Earth for a reason. Since I started skydiving little more than a year ago, I’ve found that I live my life with purpose. There are numerous facets of Ashley that I’m proud to admit have all become priority – friends, family, travel, career, new experiences, photography, writing, health & wellness, and of course, skydiving – these are all things for which I have great love and passion. Skydiving continues to teach me about the person that I want to be, and one step at a time it’s helping me get there.

So tell us dear readers, how has skydiving changed your life?

Love and Blue Skies!

Ashley

A trip to CSC

As I mentioned last week, all my posts from July have gone bye bye. So I’m working on getting these back up – stat. Though, they’re going to be slightly different, as I’m having to re-write most of them, but for those of you that have kept up, it’ll give you a little bit of a different flavor!

Recently we took an impromptu trip out to Chicago to jump at Chicagoland Skydiving Center (CSC). The idea was sparked by a couple of aspects. 1) It had been a while since we traveled (more than a month…that’s way too long in my book) so the itch was coming on bad, and 2) to visit with Ms. Sydney!

Needless to say, the trip was more than a huge hit!

Upon arrival at the DZ, we were welcomed with open arms. Within the first 5 minutes in the hangar, the DZO approached us, let us know where we could stash our stuff for the weekend, gave us a tour of the facilities, and when we ended up in the North hanger, he even showed us his Velo that just about exploded the day before…14 broken likes, yikes!

Not only that, he organized our first couple freefly jumps together! Hello – a little sitfly action with not only the DZO, but an incredible freeflyer at that! Nice! (Too bad I didn’t realize my memory card was full, otherwise I’d have proof of these first couple jumps…oopsie)!

The hospitality didn’t stop there, we were treated to privelages that you just don’t come across when visiting most dropzones. It definitely left an impression on us.

What else we noticed was that the staff there is huge! They have plenty of people working the desks and enough tandem instructors to give students the ultimate experience – a personal one they will remember! We were even reognized by name, as Lisa at manifest knew ours before we knew hers! Good stuff.

We finished out the first day of jumping with an incredible sitfly with Carolyn, the DZOs wife. She’s got great energy in the sky – check out that smile plastered on her face! How can you not have fun with company like that?!

Sunday we were able to finish out the day with a fun freefly with a badass belly flyer chick. Yes, you heard that right! We sat her upright and threw her out of the plane .

The rolling train ended quick, but as you can see, this girl got skills, especially considering she hasn’t done a freefly in 3 years!

Beyond all that, everyone is just so nice. There are significantly more female jumpers than in the NE Ohio area, and the best part is that all of them are so friendly. The chicks stick together there, support one another – just as it should be!

And you can bet, if you’re just hanging around, someone is bound to come up and chat with you between loads…that’s just the atmosphere there. Very Midwest.

As you can tell, I have nothing but good things to say about this dropzone. They busted out more than 150 tandems in one day, flying only the otter, and they made it look easy. And though it’s a busy dropzone, it has the feel of a small community. Good stuff.

I can’t recommend this dropzone enough if you’re in the Chicago area! Hell, even if you’re not, jump in your car and take a road trip. You won’t be disappointed.

Blue ones!

Ashley

It's Official

The events of this weekend were so amazing, I don’t even know where to begin.

How about at the beginning?

Friday was a beautiful day and I had a work event to attend that took me well past sunset. At first this seemed like a real bummer, but the event turned out rather fabulous, what with all the drag queens and everything.

Guess you had to be there.

Saturday wasn’t an early a start as usual. I slept in a little, actually ate breakfast, and headed to the drop zone early afternoon to get in a couple hop ‘n pops that I needed checked off my list.

I was lucky enough to be accompanied by Jeromy Alexander – check him out over at Skydive Blog – who decided to come down my way for a weekend. And what a great weekend he picked.

Saturday night we headed to Canton Air Sports to hang out with the crew there and spend the remainder of Sunday jumping, packing and learning. After the hop ‘n pops I had two more jumps before earning that good ole A-license. 

So in the cloudy morning I packed parachutes and Jeromy jumped my pack on the first load while I took pictures on the ground. I can’t tell you how happy I was to see his main flying perfectly through the sky!

Second load we hopped back on and chased a group out the door, and did a couple manuvers in preparation for my check dive. 

I sat out the third and fourth loads, doing more on-the-ground work – changing a main closing loop and all that – then I met with Tom before my check jump. We walked through the dive and he signed off on the rest of my card. At this point I could barely contain my self. 

The jump went well with docking and tracking successes and a beautiful stand-up landing. By the time I was back to the hanger my proficiency card was complete and I became an A-licensed skydiver.

After this I was completely drained, but when the offer of heading up on the last load came my way I couldn’t pass it up. There’s nothing quite like the feeling of being a licensed skydiver on a sunset load.

With a couple of docks and a couple spins with Jeromy it was a great jump to end the weekend.

Sunday was by far the best day I’ve had this summer. The DZ was filled with all the people I love to jump with most and spirits were high. One more reminder why I love this sport and the community of jumpers that come with it.

Blue Skies!

Ashley