Page 34 - Images Literary Magazine 2016 - 2017.pdf

The Ride of My Lif e

BY Raine Osmanski, Gr ade 8

?Thinking will not overcome fear but action
will,? -W. Clement Stone

As my body twisted and turned in various directions, I
thought two things to myself: Why am I here? I don?t want to be
here. Left and right, up and down, the roller coaster overtook
my body, and I lost all control. My vision blurred, and all I could
feel was the winding track of the coaster. The moment my head
knocked back and forth on my seat causing a pounding headache was the same moment I realized one
very important thing: I did not like roller coasters. At the age of only six, I developed a severe fear of roller
coasters. As an extremely anxious person already, I knew from the beginning that this would not be an
easy phobia to overcome. Amusement parks became less of an amusement and more of a burden, and
watching all my friends and family have fun without me became a real struggle. I felt very left out, and I
wanted to be able to go on big, daring rides like everyone else, but one thing always got in my way, and
that was my own head. I would tell myself that I was not brave enough, or that something terrible would
happen to me. So, I made the decision to steer clear of roller coasters for a whole six years, until I finally
decided to stop listening to myself and start taking chances.

As someone who suffers from anxiety, I always let my insane thoughts control what I do. So when I
developed a fear of roller coasters, I had no intentions of ever going on one ever again. Going through the
same pain and stress that I already suffered through once did not seem pleasant to me, so why do it
again when I could easily choose not to? This seemed like a fool proof plan, until I went to Hershey Park in
2015 with my soccer team. After years of avoiding roller coasters, I realized for the first time everything I
was missing out on. Watching all my friends run off together, laughing and raving about enjoyable rides,
finally hit me and I felt extremely left out. But the small voice inside my head telling me how terrible roller
coasters were always interrupted my plans of having a good time.

As I walked around Hershey park, I examined the roller coasters around me. One that particularly caught
my eye was a ride titled The Great Bear. It was a deep purple and black and was buried behind trees and
bushes, except for one corkscrew turn that I had perfect view of. After watching people twisting through
that corkscrew all day, screaming their heads off with joy, I began to wonder what it would be like if I
conquered something of that wildness. Slowly, my small meaningless thoughts turned into greater
desires as I longed to giggle and shriek with elation just as all my friends had. I can?t go on that, I thought.
What if it breaks down? What if I hate it? But part of me was saying, Look at how fun it is. I?m missing out,
and all that?s stopping me is myself.

So with great bravery, I sheepishly told my friends Charlotte, Erin and Maddie of my wish to go on The
Great Bear.
?Raine, do you want to come on the roller coaster with us?? Maddie asked enthusiastically. I saw the
excitement written on her face and again thought of everything I was missing out on. With an
apprehensive grin, I turned to face my father.