Adrenaline

My dear fellow adventurers,


I must first of all sincerely apologise for not writing more often.  Since my last post, I have been on a few adventures, which I will write about and share very soon, however at this time I am going through a hard time, as well as suffering and stressing out about a little thing called exams.

So in the meantime, I have decided to write an entry about my latest adrenaline rush, and hopefully let off a little steam at the same time.  I apologise in advance if I end up writing something that is of no consequence and totally random.

Sunset in Queenstown

A few weeks after arriving in New Zealand months ago, my flatmates and I made a bucket list of things we wished to do and accomplish while we were here.  One of those things was bungee jumping.  Just over a week ago, a friend and I travelled to beautiful Queenstown to accomplish that goal.  As is common with me, I was absolutely psyched to do it, and all weekend I had to reassure my friend that it was going to be like "Pocahontas diving off the cliff."  I was absolutely excited about it!  I have always wanted to experience flying without a plane, and so I figured this would be the closest thing to it.

All the way up until we were in the suspended "shack" from which we were going to jump, I was ecstatic!  Then I found out I had to be the first to jump... O_O  I was a little more nervous now, but still confident I could do it.

But then I sat in the chair and made the mistake to look behind me.  Now, up until then I never really thought that I had a fear of vertigo, but when you are standing on the ledge of a slightly swinging suspended shack, I can tell you, vertigo hits you no matter what!  It also does not help that they expect you to dive head first, when all you can see below you is a small river and rocks... Vertigo hit so bad, I had to ask for a minute to clear my head, but instead of course I just thought about the height.  So I was slightly frozen for a time.  Finally though, I took a deep breath and did not allow my mind to think another thing, and I jumped!

It was the most exhilarating thing ever!  The men who strapped me up confirmed that it feels like flying, and my expectations were met.  The first 4 seconds of the fall were terrifying, but once I cleared my head and just enjoyed the sensation, it was the best feeling in the world!  When I "hit" the bottom of the bungee and rebounded, I was impatient to be free-falling again.  When looking at the ground, it does not seem to be coming at you very fast, and although time passed by at regular speed, for me it was as if it was slowed down.

It has been well over two years since my last downhill, and I miss it so much.  Unfortunately, I have not been training enough to simply jump back into speed racing, but I miss it dearly.  I miss the rush, the wind in my face, the adrenaline, the exhilaration to go a little faster, to take chances, the nerves and butterflies I got before every race, and the amazing feeling I got when crossing the finish line.  Bungee jumping that weekend brought all of those sensations back to me, which only made me slightly nostalgic.  But it made me realise what I really missed, and that is the constant rush of adrenaline, which I would get at least 2 to 3 times a month.

Now all I get to look forward to is sitting behind a desk to study, hit the gym, and train slalom and giant slalom.  In the summer, I'll go mountain biking, rock climbing, and hiking, and although some of the sports provide my fill of adrenaline, I only get to them part-time over the summer, on top summer classes and work.

I miss my old self.  I used to be a crazy, energetic, adventure searching gal, who would go hike straight up a rocky mountain side with her sister and no designated trail, while it was raining and thundering.

Most of all, and a potentially good reason for my current state, I used to not be in the same place for more than 2-3 weeks.  Staying in one place for so long makes me become stagnant.  I thought that I would find myself again by coming to New Zealand, but instead I found that, despite the fact I'm in a country that has so much still be explored, I have lost some of my interest.  I hate this feeling, and part of it may also be due to my stress with school, but once my exams are done, I am going to get out of here.  I am going to hit the road and just keep driving, exploring to the northern parts of New Zealand.  I will find myself again!  And I will become the fun, socializing person that I was at the beginning of the semester!

I apologise for my slight venting at the end.  Many of you have heard it before, and are probably sick and tired of hearing it so much...

I promise the next entry will be full of happy and funny adventures.

Until next time, this is W.W.A. Rhondiggity, signing out.