Jumping Off Jaws Bridge

I fell downwards into the dark blue water. Butterflies flurried in my stomach. I hit the water and immediately ducked my head under. It was cold but refreshing at the same time.The water wasn’t that deep but it wasn’t shallow enough for me to stand up in it so I had to swam over to the line of rocks to get out and onto the beach.

About fifteen minutes earlier, my dad was parking our black GMC car near the beach parking lot. The bridge hung above the body of water that connects the ocean on one side to the bay on the other. There was two wooden railings on either side of the bridge, the one overlooking the ocean is where we were jumping from. I looked over the railing to see the beach on my right side, lined by rocks that separated the water from the sand.

I watched as my brother and cousins jumped off and landed in the dark water below, scared because I knew I would be doing that soon. We had been coming to martha’s vineyard for years now and i had always been too afraid to jump of the jaws bridge but this year I had to go. My dad helped me get up onto the wooden beam where everyone was jumping from. I hoisted myself over so I was facing forwards with both of my legs dangling out in front of me. My heart pounded in my chest and my hands shook. I grasped the railing so tight that my knuckles turned white. I looked down at my feet and my light blue painted nails and my tightened my grip on the beam. The only thing I could hear was muffled vocies from behind me and the waves crashing at the beach next to the bridge. In front of me for miles, the only thing I could see was deep blue ocean water. To my right and left of me there was a big wide spread beach with scattered towels, beach umbrellas and people. A slight breeze washed over me and it smelled like the ocean.

            After about 10 minutes of sitting there, watching around me I decided to jump. I shifted closer to the edge of the railing, almost at the very end of it.

“Don’t worry” I hear my older brother say from behind me “I know it seems scary now but once you go it’s really fun”

I nod my head in response and Owen climbs up on the beam, only standing up. He jumps off with ease and hits the water. About 5 second after his head goes under it bobs back up to the surface with a big smile on his face. I release my grip slightly on the beam and take a deep breath while Owen swims across to get out of the water. I swallowed hard and urged forward.

        I began to sail downward. My stomach filled with butterflies and even though the hard part was over I still felt scared. After about what felt like a while, I hit the water. My head ducked under the surface as the water covered my whole body. I sunk until my feet hit the sand at the bottom and a pushed upwards. My head came up for air and I began swimming towards the rocks just like Owen did before me. I swam until I reached the rocks lining the beach and stepped on the lowest one. I climbed up onto the beach, being extra careful so that I wouldn’t slip. After i walked on the beach to get my shoes i made my way back to the bridge. I smiled think of how good it felt to finally face my fears.