The Fun in Fear

THE FUN IN FEAR FEAR FEAR

story by Jacqueline Saguin photo by Adrianna Santiago

Wait for it. These three words reappeared to Shannon Mercatante at random moments in her life: through her favorite television show, “How I Met Your Mother,” and her favorite musical, “Hamilton.” It’s the push the 19-year-old needed to backflip out of an airplane and bungee jump over a man-made pond in Australia.

She took these coincidences as a sign from the universe, even tattooing it on her body as a permanent reminder. It tells her to look past the butterflies fluttering in her stomach as a tiny, rickety plane carries her and a skydiving instructor strapped flat to her back. She’s about to free-fall for a minute at a thousand feet up, a parachute carrying her the rest of the way down. She knows that afterward, it’s euphoria.

Mercatante thrives on taking risks. It’s something her parents instilled in her, she said. They always tell her, “The way to achieve your aspirations is by taking risks.” But, little did they know she’d take it to heightened levels.

“I always feel a rush of adrenaline,” she said. “I want to do it again.”

Her bright green eyes light up like a child on Christmas morning when Mercatante talks about her first big adventure: a family excursion to Italy in 2013.

She’s in Tuscany, gliding across the sunrise in a hot air balloon with her family. She floats about 1,000 feet in the air, ascending over stretches of mountains and miles of vineyards. Love and fascination swells inside her from seeing this whole different world from above.

From then on, she knew she wanted to see more of this beauty.

A toothy grin never fades from Mercatante’s face as she tucks her voluminous amber hair behind her ear. With three skydives, a scuba diving certification and bungee jumping under her belt, she’s proud of her adventurous identity.

In 2015, during a trip to Canada, Mercatante volunteered first out of her tour group to walk along Toronto’s CN Tower for the sheer fun of it. Swear words fell from her lips, a few new ones made up on the spot, as a single bungee cord dangled her over the ledge of a building stretching 356 meters above the ground. Each person who makes the trek is awarded a Guinness World Record for the “Highest External Walk on a Building.” She’s one of the recipients.

On her way home to Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, Mercatante made a detour to Sebastian, Florida, deciding to fit in a quick skydive.

She studied abroad in Australia going into her second year of college. Her parents thought she might come back with a tattoo and skydiving under her belt, and she did – along with bungee jumping and scuba diving.

Terri Brown Crawford, a licensed clinician who specializes in trauma, said people seek out adrenaline in different ways. Crawford helps veterans who return home from intense war zones. Their stability is thrown off, which typically causes thrill-seeking behavior that may lead to danger.

In regards to activities like skydiving, it’s only negative if people constantly seek out a way to keep their adrenaline pumping, she said.

“As far as doing positive activities, it’s OK,” Crawford said. “It feels good when our adrenaline is flowing, and we’re having fun.”

It’s all about moderation. Although these activities seem extreme to people, anyone can become addicted to anything. It’s the motivation behind these acts that determines a problem.

Someone can take up something as simple as running and do it constantly. But, if a runner, for example, only ever runs and finds him or herself losing an abnormal amount of weight, it’s a sign of unhealthy risk taking.

Mercatante takes risks because it helps her grow and see the world from a different view. She skydives to see the world from above and scuba dives to see it from below.

“We really are so small in comparison to everything on earth,” she said. “It puts life into perspective.”

So, Mercatante asks, “Why not?”

Her skydiving instructor told her that people are more likely to get hit on the head by a coconut than get injured from skydiving. Of course, there

are those chances, Mercatante said. But, in order to build strength and character, people need to overcome their mental obstacles.

“It helps me understand my limits and see where life takes me,” she said.

She went scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef while she studied abroad. It took vigorous training, including spending two weekends getting certified beforehand. Scuba diving is a higher risk activity because the safety of others is also at stake, so she needed to educate herself and practice before she felt comfortable doing it. Mercatante’s excitement fuels her words when she talks about what’s to come.

The next stop is Queenstown, New Zealand, which lives up to its reputation as the “adventure capital of the world.” People take on white water rafting and zip lining among other activities.

Eagerness washes over her face. She wants to try a canyon swing that a Yelp reviewer wrote, “Scared the life out of me.”

“I never felt scared or in danger,” she said. “But it’s one of those things you need to make sure you know exactly what you’re doing.”

It applies to every activity she partakes in. Mercatante makes sure she’s finding a place she knows is reliable and safe.

“People always tell me, ‘I could never do that,’” she said.

They’re stuck living on land – afraid to leave, Mercatante said. And she finds it baffling. Spontaneity and variety are her spices of life. She craves it. Although nerves will settle into the pit of her stomach, Mercatante will stretch her arms out wide and soar through the air like Superwoman. Wait for it. O&B

People tie a cord to your ankle, and one, two, three – you jump down, she said as if she were talking about the weather. It’s all a routine. All it takes is making that appointment. “We see terror on the news all the time,” she said. “So, you need to appreciate life for what it is while you can because [fear] is not a way to live.”

“It helps me understand my limits and see where life takes me.”