My aha moment came to me 15,000 feet above ground. I was at a point in my life where I was very unhappy. I had two small children and my marriage was falling apart. I felt like I needed something really exciting to do. Something for myself. So I scheduled a skydive.

The moment happened after the chute was open, and we were just hanging out under canopy. This was up in Seattle, so we turned one way and saw the Space Needle, and then we turned another way toward the hills and there was a beautiful rainbow. It was just so peaceful.

By the time I got back down to the ground, my head was clear. I just had this overwhelming feeling of control over my life. I knew that I had to keep doing it and make some changes in my life. I got divorced and went back to school. I’m just now applying to nursing schools.

If something hard comes along, if I feel overwhelmed with school or the kids, I just say, ‘I jump out of airplanes, I can handle this.’ No one’s going to do it for me, but if I want it to happen, then I make it happen.

An aha moment is when something happens to you, and you get that moment of clarity, and you say to yourself,
‘I can make something different out of my self,’ or, ‘I have the power to change my life, and make my life what I want it to be.’

I learned by jumping out of that plane that I have the courage to pretty much do anything.