31. Chicagoland Bootcamp: Unlimited Skydiving!

I’m sitting on a 100 degree hippie bus from Madrid to Lisbon (more about that later) so for this post I’m going to write instead of a video. 3 smelly people (+2 of us now too), a slow van, 8 hour ride, and interesting past couple days- this makes writing as a distraction seem extra fun right now ;)

Well, first to back up and say how we got there. When I was traveling in Colombia I got close with Daniela, a Colombia girl skydiver. Other Colombians were talking about the Chicago “pro pass” - an unlimited skydiving pass at Chicagoland Skydiving Center (CSC). We had heard we could get as many as 200 jumps in a month- a dream for both of us to get better at flying, our D license and AFF rating. Long story from other posts- we reunited in San Diego and road tripped to CSC for a week.

We pulled into CSC at sunset on Friday after a long week of driving- the night before the pro pass began. The drop zone was in the middle of corn fields- we kept saying we were living in Chicago for July but quickly realized we were far from Chicago. That night was the start of the Independence Day boogie so cars filled the parking lot and tents in the field. The first jump at CSC is free so we parked, reunited with Priscilla and Simon in the parking lot and rushed onto the plane for our 1st jump at our new home.

The boogie was the best way to start the propass- there were many organizers who were amazing with teaching us a lot- Sam, Chazi, Lawrence, Damien, Spencer, John. It was a lot of reunions with people who I had met during travels. Other highlights that first weekend were realizing we could jump up to 14 times, seeing how much our flying quickly improved and Simon teaching me how to wing suit- a whole new love!

That first weekend was also one of the most challenging. The plan was to live in a tent together for the month. As we set up the $100 Walmart at midnight the first night of the boogie, this truly felt like the craziest idea. The other “pro passers” helped us set up with such kindness- a lifesaver. Trust me that in the previous months of traveling I had slept in every type of accommodations and loved it- everything from luxury condos to drop zone bunkhouses- so previously a tent sounded like a fine idea. That first night, sleepless in our tent, knowing I’d be sharing that space for a month, while jumping all day every day in a hot and rainy Chicago month, eating out of the drop zone fridge, body and mind being extremely challenged- I questioned the whole CSC plan. This increased each night as I laid there with my whole body in such pain from all of the jumping and packing.

On the road trip to CSC, I had written an article for a blog where she asked- What would you suggest to people following their dreams?- and answered “don’t give up no matter what, no matter hard it gets.” I almost laughed at myself but kept repeating that to myself in those tent nights where my body was in such pain. Luckily our friend Wes saved the month and after night 4 of tent living offered us to live in his luxury RV since he wasn’t going to be there. It had a full kitchen, bed, couches, AC and made it possible for us to sleep well at night to work our hardest each day- WIN!

After 5 months of traveling South America previous to the CSC month, I thought being back in my own country would make the month so easy. This proved not true- mentally and physically it was the hardest part of my travels so far. This also made it by far the most rewarding month of which I’m most proud. In total that month, I did 251 skydives in the month, learned to wing suit, got my D license, became part of the CSC family and saw my skydiving skills improve faster than ever. I believe in my body and mind more than ever after seeing it challenged like that. On so many 14 jumps days, when the body and mind felt so depleted -but pushing for every single skydive possible- I learned to believe in myself deep to my core.

This month proved also how strong love, community and family can be. The CSC family is like no other drop zone family I have seen. I truly consider it my home drop zone because of them. On the happiest days to the days where my body hurt to the days learning new things- they were there with support. One afternoon, a week into the propass I finished my jump, walked around the corner and my love Ivan was standing there to surprise me from Puerto Rico. Being with him after such a challenging first week was like being home. He stayed there for an amazing week- feeling his love jumping, cooking, Walmart shopping and Chicago adventuring together meant the world to me. His love each day of that month also kept me strong. My good friend Steph from San Diego also came to surprise me for my last weekend there and her energy, support and helped me push through. My sister continuously texted me love and strength, always telling me she believed in me. My parents were nervous about the whole plan (okay you were right about the tent!) but continued to be supportive too. When I drove in their driveway after the month, they were sitting in the driveway in lawn chairs with champagne and flowers to celebrate <3

I thank each and every person who were part of this adventure- thank you for the love, teaching, endless jumps, support, food, RV, wine, and most of all belief in me. It was a DREAM to be able to jump all day every day and be a part of such a badass skydiving family.