A Leap of Faith

First off, I just want to say, bungee jumping has always been something I've wanted to do.

And I can now officially say that I've done it.

Going bungee jumping was absolutely thrilling, and terrifying, and exhilarating, and nerve-racking.

Before the jump part of me just wanted to turn around and say "No way. This is not going to happen." ... but the part of me that said "You've been waiting your whole life to do this, just go!!!" won out.

And I'm so glad it did.

Right before I went for the jump, as the guys working there were cinching me up getting me strapped in tightly, I asked one of them "Has anyone ever died on this tower?" And to my surprise, they said

"No, not on this tower."

Then I asked, "What was the worst injury someone sustained?"

"Just some bruises really." Then he described to me how one or two people had hurt themselves a bit more seriously, but only because they did stupid things like bungee jump by their wrists or things like that.


That was actually probably the best thing for me to hear at that moment. Basically, I just needed to know. You're not going to die if you do this. You're going to be alright.


And you know what? It's the same for my writing career.

I am absolutely terrified of sending off my manuscript to agents. I have no idea if anyone is going to like my writing, and I feel like as soon as I start sending it off, I'm going to be jumping off a ledge with no way back. I'm going to find out if I can write, and that knowledge will change things for me. No matter what happens, I won't be in total ignorant bliss anymore. I'll know one way or another.

It could be awesome, it could be heart-breaking, but you know what?

It won't kill me.

At the end of the day, if all I sustain are a few bruises, then I'll be okay with that. At some point I'm going to have to just be okay with what I've got, and accept the fact that someday, if I really want to be an author, I have to take the plunge. I have to take that leap of faith, and put myself out there as a serious writer.

Did I mention that's really scary??


Now, don't think too hard about this metaphor, it's not something ultra-profound or super applicable, but I think in this case it works. I realize people have died from bungee jumping before, but that's not the point of this example. Like I said, try not to think about it too hard.

A lot of people have been asking me how it felt to go bungee jumping, and to be perfectly honest, I'm not sure how to describe it. It felt utterly surreal. Like I was in the most life-like dream I've ever had. I've had lots of dreams that ended in falling, but when I went bungee jumping, instead of a sense of sheer terror, I felt utter thrill and elation as I plummeted down toward the water below. Right before jumping, all I could think of, was Buzz Lightyear with his eyes closed about to jump off the side of Andy's bed saying "To infinity, AND BEYOND!!" Then I fell, with style. :P No more prep time needed. No more pep talks required. Just a willingness to jump, and the knowledge that it would all be ok in the end.

I don't know what it will feel like when I send my book off to the "professionals". It could be everything I've dreamed of, or it might not be. The fear of the latter has kept me paralyzed for a long time. I've been doing a lot of stuff to basically just put off sending query letters to agents because I keep feeling like I'm not ready, and I need to prepare more. But how long is that going to drag on for? At this point, I think it's time to go out there and just do it. Seriously, why wait to chase your dreams tomorrow, when in reality you could be doing that today?

Basically all I'm trying to say, is sometimes, there's only so much preparation you can do.

The rest, you just have to leave up to gravity.


What about you? What's holding you back? Or have you already taken the plunge?