When we are unfamiliar with something, we may feel nervous and fearful. The help of others is a good way to make us pull through.   I write for a big newspaper, and I wanted to write a story about parachute  jumping. To make it a realistic as well as exciting story, I decided that I first had to make a jump myself. Unfortunately, I am not good at any sport of any kind, let alone parachute jumping.   My friend Mr. Smith was willing to give me a hand. He took me to a ground school. The first day's training included several hours of instruction but not my first drop from an airplane. For this, I had to wait until the following morning.   The next morning, after a hurried, anxious breakfast, I was taken to the airfield. There, two heavy parachutes were put on my back. Then I was asked to make my way to a small plane which had just stopped slowly on the runway.   Once on the plane, it was soon climbing. I began to feel nervous. As we reached one thousand meters, Harry, my teacher, hooked  a line from my parachute to a steel ring inside the plane. The line was to pull my parachute open after I jumped.   "Get ready, Henry," Harry said. I moved carefully to the door. I wanted to cry, "No, no, no!" but no word came.   "Jump!" Harry called out loudly. "Jump!"   To my surprise, kicking like a frog, I did jump. Away from the plane, and down, down I fell. It worked! The air seemed to hold me up. I was very happy.    Then I felt a quick pull. My big parachute had opened! It was like the best surprise I'd ever had. I looked down. There were rivers, trees, fields and houses. I heard the soft sound of the air. This was fun! The writer made a parachute jump himself   _  .
to learn more about parachute jumping to make his story realistic and exciting to have a rest from his busy work to prove to others his skill and courage