BIR BILLING Solo Paragliding Experience

I enjoyed every bit of this experience, all the flights were relaxing, smooth and chill. I am glad that I chose to explore this, since this was a beautiful way of connecting with nature, adventurers (from all over the world) and understand my physical & mental self. Pushing past the barrier of fear; my parents and coaches were open, without differentiating based on age. Considering my age, few thought it was a bold move but a good one and I believe that every child should figure out what they want to do and go for it, with their parent's support! We only live once, so let's LIVE and Fly high!!!😉
Yup, that's me! Mishti 11 years old Open Learner. I went to TT School of Paragliding located in Bir Billing Himachal Pradesh. This place is a banger! We started with learning about different parts, how to buckle up your harness, make a mushroom, and most importantly, how to control your glider! It was confusing and tough at first, but with lots of support and sweat, I started to understand the glider as I went down the slope, running side to side, and pulling on brakes to get to the center. I practiced that more than 70 times, and I had to make a mushroom every time! It wasn't fun to carry the glider back up, and I bet my face proved that, but spreading it and going for another run. So worth it. And before I knew it I was taking off, scared out of my wits, but super duper crazily excited. Excited enough to wake up at 4 and go on a 30 min car drive with lots of songs and chaotic singing 😀. The first flight, I was a nervous wreck, thinking of all the possibilities, and it was such a relief when I started to fly. Somehow, after the first, something just flipped, and the fear evaporated in the cold air , literally, by the last takeoff, I was sure of my glider and I knew nothing could happen. I just got comfortable in the seat shaped harness and enjoyed my ride, the whole city stretched out under me, the air in my face, the hills filled with rustling fresh trees and the whole view looking like it came straight out of a movie. The settlements dotted the landscape like colorful stars, and the widespread step-tea estates carpeted the ground like moss, fading into huge snow capped mountain tops. In a while, when I started to do 360 rotations or 180 turns, I could see the the whole range of mountains, their jagged peaks rising out, allowing little streaks of sunlight to fall through, leaving a mesmerizing image in my head. Leaning sideways or pulling the brakes did the trick and it was super to just keep on going around, staring at the changing landscape. Just before landing, I prepared with pushing up my body and feet on the ground! I landed all 6 on my feet and in order to control my glider better, I turned around and pulled the brakes, with a bright smile and started the process for packing. First, I got my glider to higher ground, tired but still in love with the flying, images flashing in my head. After that, I just had to fold my glider up with some help, put in the lines and make sure it was tight and compact, with minimum air in it. Getting the glider into its bag, I assembled the kit, the glider in, the harness, which I took off earlier in and of course the helmet. Just like that, I had a big heavy rock to carry around. Yay! All the coaches were super duper supportive and I could definitely not have had this one of a kind experience without them. Thank you Coaches, my parents, all the people I met there and You, for checking this out!
Credits:
Conceptualization: Mishti
Writer: Mishti
Voice: Mishti
Video Creator: Mishti
Video Editor: Mishti