Whenever my sister suggested we go on a ride I pulled out my go to excuses. Some of my excuses include: "I am too sick", "I don't feel good", or "the line is too long" (which is usually my excuse when I don't want to do something, even today.) She finally said if I didn't go on the Wild Mouse with her, I was a wimp. Somehow I found myself in the line. Probably because my pride was being questioned, remember I like to act tough. I remember standing in line wondering the whole time what I was still doing in this line. I thought about the million ways I could die on this ride and how everything would probably end on this ride. I was about ready to turn around and walk away when I suddenly realized we were in the car to the Wild Mouse. I was so distracted by my many plots to fake sick or something, that I forgot where I was and what I was doing.
On the way up the ride I was sick to my stomach and really upset about going. I had no idea what would happen. Especially since I had heard many crazy and dangerous stories about the Wild Mouse. It held a reputation as one of the more scarier rides and you didn't go upside down or any other thrilling effect. (For those non-lagoon knowers the first model of the Wild Mouse derailed a car once and I believed killed someone, then they rebuilt it.) I was terrified and sweating so much. I'm sure it looked as if someone had splashed me with water.
As the ride actually began, I was in tears. I was out of my mind. Then all of a sudden I was on the ride and moving fast. I was still scared and unsure about my outcome but then I noticed that I was flying. I had such an adrenaline rush I was zipping around and and turning so quickly it felt like I was about to fall off the edge. I was still scared and everyone in the park could tell by my terrified screaming. Although, the screaming helped. I got out all my worries and fears out in that loud terrified scream. Sometimes when all else fails you just have to scream and let everything you are feeling out to not feel scared anymore. As crazy at it might seem, we occasionally need to let the bottled up stuff out. Screaming at that moment was my release of all my fears I had always kept inside me and didn't tell people about. I just made excuses for them to hide them; screaming felt so much better.
I look back at that experience now and I wouldn't trade that sick terrified feeling for anything because now I love those roller coasters. By loving those roller coasters, I can enjoy life and amusement parks so much more now, making life a bit more fun. I had to be scared. I had to feel that way in order to realize how fun the ride was. Roller coasters have dips, dives, spins, crazy turns, and on some coasters you can't always see what is coming next (ex: Spider at Lagoon).
Even though we sometimes are blind to the next part, that shouldn't stop us from enjoying the ride and having a blast. We get so concerned about what's on the left, the right, or what we can't see, that we forget to enjoy the ride. It didn't matter how many times my sister told me how fun the ride was or how much I would enjoy it that wouldn't have made me want to go on the ride more. We have to choose to step on, sit down, and cross our fingers with the hope that it will all work out. We must believe and have faith and realize for ourselves the thrill of each ride we go on.
No matter how much we want to save someone or ourselves from feeling pain or fear we must let them. We must let them, so they can find out what the ride is like for themselves. There will be dips and turns and whirls and twirls. We still will most likely feel the nervous, and sick feeling. And we will still be scared of the wild turns, sudden drops, fast speeds, and all the fear of those moments. But through my many trips to Lagoon and other amusement parks I have found that those are things that make the ride so worth riding!
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