Last year I had the chance to try indoor skydiving! I am sure people who have never done it before have a ton of questions. Was it accessible to you? Would you recommend it to other people with disabilities? Was it scary? Fun?
It all started when my brother turned 13. My mom planned something for us to do on his 13th birthday. We went to an indoor skydiving place in New York. The indoor skydiving place was called iFLY. I was surprised that we got to go to an indoor skydiving place. I know for sure that my brother wasn’t expecting to do that on his birthday. It was an experience that I am never going to forget. My brother got to bring his cousin and his friends to experience skydiving with him.
Indoor skydiving was very accessible to me. I never expected to do it! The people who worked at iFLY were willing to let me go skydiving. Now, this isn’t typical skydiving people normally think of. People think skydiving is jumping out of plane and skydiving like that. Well that’s one way they can do it, but the way I did it was nothing like that. The way I did it was inside a tube. Inside the tube, there was a gigantic fan that blows you up, down and all around the tube. I had someone hold me throughout the entire experience.
I would recommend indoor skydiving it to other people with disabilities. It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that they can’t miss out on doing. If you want to go skydiving but can’t do it due to the disability you have, I would suggest you search for an indoor skydiving place close to your home. All you need to do is ask if the place is accessible and are you able to dit. Although, some places are willing to do it for you without you asking them.
For me, indoor skydiving was not scary. As a matter of fact, it was so much fun. I would definitely go back and do it again. The next time I get to go indoor skydiving again, I will definitely bring my friends along with me. After you are done with your skydiving experience, you get a little certificate saying that you have done it. There was a funny thing that happened afterward though. The employees at iFLY asked my mom if she wanted to do it and she said no. She also said that she was too much of a chicken to do something like that.
About Zoe Hernandez: Zoe lives in Meriden, Connecticut. A Quantum® brand ambassador, Zoe attends Abilities Expos and speaks with people about her disability. She is currently enrolled in college and hopes to work in a community one day with people who are just like her. Click here to learn more about Zoe.