I fell 4 stories and broke my spine about a decade ago.

Had no problems diving as a kid.

It took actually breaking my body in a freak accident to make me afraid of heights. Even then, it took a few years for me to be like “yeah, maybe I won’t go on that roof top or get close to that cliff’s edge”. I don’t remember the fall so I think there was still some disconnect between heights and their being dangerous for me.

The scariest part of diving as a kid for me was being wet and feeling the wind whip past you, making you feel cold and vulnerable. Even if it was like 90+ degrees outside. I was always a tall beanpole of a girl whose body was hyper flexible and flabby. I also couldn’t wear my glasses so everything was blurry. When you stand up there sopping wet in your bathing suit, it feels like the whole world is looking at you and noticing every flaw. I guess part of me was always happy to dive to make that feeling go away. Plus once you do it once, it becomes easier to convince yourself to do it again, provided you don’t land wrong.

That’s my experience at least. I’m guessing it wasn’t a 35 foot dive though. Feel like I would remember that. I have photos my grandma took of me in the air doing the splits. Those were some of my fondest memories when visiting her :)