My first mission for WonderBra: fly over Montreal in a helicopter. I had included this on my bucket list because I’ve been feeling caught up in the details of my life lately and need to step back and look at the big picture. As well, I’ve always been fascinated by all forms of flying and I love every opportunity to be in the air.

So on a crisp sunny Saturday morning, my two friends and I headed over to a helicopter company on Montreal’s south shore for our airbound adventure. Giddy with excitement, we piled into the ‘copter and lifted into the sky. While we were expecting a tour over the city, the skies had another plan for us. We were unable to fly over the city because of radar concerns and too many other aircraft. So instead, we flew south and east of the city, towards Mount Sainte-Hilaire.

We flew over industrial parks, suburban developments, highways, golf courses, freshly-tilled agricultural land and blocks of forests, ablaze with “les coleurs” (the colours, changed leaves). There was a beauty and rhythm in the patterns and systems, and we could catch small glimpses of people living their lives on a Saturday morning (in cars, of course). The 30 minute flight was a way to see the world as it really is, even if it’s a world – suburban, car-centred, industrial/agricultural – that I find a little alienating and disconnecting.

I came back to solid ground and returned to my neighbourhood with a new perspective and an expanded sense of possibility. And gratitude for the dense urbanity that I live in, where I can walk everywhere and see the city skyline. Not only did the helicopter ride push me out of my comfort zone, but the process of filming and editing the above video was definitely a new challenge. Behold, my first video attempt! It was actually much more difficult than flying. I’m more comfortable working with words than images. But I’ve also been wanting to explore video blogging, and this seemed like as good a time as any to start.

So I went from looking at the big picture to staring at a small screen, and in both instances pushed myself into new territory. The video is far from perfect, but it’s a step on the blogging journey and a new medium to explore. We’ll see how it goes.