Waimea Bay Cliff Jumping

My feet leave the cliff and I am soaring through the air. For a brief moment the force of my leap propels me upward toward the sky before the earth regains its grasp on me and I start to fall. Time seems to slow down as I plummet towards the earth at what the recording will later show to be lighting fast speed. My body seems to realize all of a sudden that it has not stopped falling, and a rush of adrenaline sweeps through my body.

I hear the famed waves of Waimea bay crashing against the shore like thunder in a storm, and see the people diving into the waves. Surfers ride the waves in, and swimmers challenge the ocean in their own way by daring the waves to knock them off of their feet.

I look down and the turbulent waters of the Pacific lie below, waiting to welcome me into their midst. I can smell the saltiness of the air in my nose and taste it in my mouth. Across the water is the beach. Small colored bits stand out in sharp contrast against the tan sand. While I cannot see individual people, I know that my cousins are standing there, watching my fall. They have already challenged the cliff, and they have emerged from the watery depth below it in triumph. I watched them jump, watched them take a leap of faith, and that is why I jump now. Because I then had to.

I chose to abandon the solid feeling of ground under my feat, abandon the security that hard ground provided and let myself go, challenging the world to do its worst.

The exhilaration of jumping of off a cliff is incomparable. The adrenaline from falling creates a sense of euphoria, making me feel as though I could do anything. With the adrenaline, however, comes a feeling of fear that threatens to overpower me. Doubts cloud my mind, useless though they are at this late stage. I could be dashed against the rocks, I could be swept into the channel that goes under the cliff, I could get pulled out by the powerful undertow, I could drown. These questions pervade my thoughts as the adrenaline continues to course through my body. This is the feeling, I realize, that thrill seekers seek. The closeness to death, the feeling of danger. For, in truth, adrenaline is nothing more than the world’s most readily available drug. It is addictive. It is intoxicating. It is dangerous. But for better or worse, it must come to an end. I close my eyes and brace myself.

Piercing through the warm water, my feet hit the soft sand. The momentum carries me until I’m practically sitting on the ocean floor. I pause there for a moment, letting the water’s steady pulse wash over me before springing out my legs. I rocket to the surface and burst from the water. Looking around, I see the ocean, seemingly calmer than before I jumped. I look up, and the cliff seems smaller too. I swim in to shore, ready to do it again.