Anna growing into the individual she wants to be

I can't exactly describe the feeling that I had sitting on the edge of the open plane door, 10,000 ft off the ground. My heart skipped a beat as I watched Avery's sleeve fall away and out of sight, realizing that in a few seconds, that would be me. My heart seemed like it was barely beating as I flung both of my legs onto the small metal step that was the only thing keeping me from falling. I heard Mike, the man I was jumping with yell into my ear “You have to let go!” Before I even realized what had happened, we were flipping through the air. Trying to force myself to keep my eyes open, I experienced a few seconds of absolute sheer panic and terror before I came to and was able to comprehend my surrounding. I felt a rough tap on my shoulder, the sign for me to uncurl my body – we were free falling. I could see everything, mountains, the ocean, the run way where we took off from from, for 32 exhilarating seconds. Had you told me, a year ago that I would be jumping out of a plane in Africa, I would have told you you were absolutely and completely nuts. Had you told me the day before that I would be jumping out a plane, I would have told you that you were nuts. When I say that I wake up in the morning with absolutely no idea what the day will bring, I mean, I have absolutely no idea what challenge, adventure or new experience the day will bring. When we departed for our Plettenberg Bay trip, I had zero intentions of flinging myself out a plane, yet, here we are. 

Anna jumping into self confidence

I think we can all agree that Cape Town has changed us in more ways than one. We've learned about NGOs, non-profits, and human rights, just to scratch the surface, but I have learned more about myself in the past 4 months than I could have fathomed was possible. We did an exercise in our pre-departure course where we had to write down words that we thought identified us. A simple assignment, yet one that I struggled a great deal with. I didn't really know how to identify myself, but the past few months have allowed me to define myself as an individual. Cape Town has allowed me to grow. Much of this growth, I believe has come from the level of independence that this program fosters. In one week, I will be leaving with a greater sense of confidence in who I am.