Facing My Fear....

.... My fear of roller coasters that is. The picture above is a roller coaster called "The Vortex" at King's Island... There is a saying, "The only thing to fear is fear itself." I keep that quote in one of my many quote books that I keep, and for the most part I totally agree with it. This past week-end I faced my fear, and even though I would never do it again, I can proudly say I conquered it. As I said above, I happen to be incredibly terrified of roller coasters. I have ridden quite a few in my life, and every single time I get off I am a nervous wreck for a good half hour afterwords, at least.... with this particular roller coaster though, I was still shaking and feeling sick for an hour after I rode it. When I first waited in line for the ride with my three other friends I was actually planning on asking to walk through to the exit, but somehow my friends connived me and played their little mind games and got me to agree to go on this one roller coaster. As I was waiting to get on those last few minutes I started to shake and cry and feel incredibly sick to my stomach. It got so bad I was telling them that I wanted my Daddy to be there with me. I got strapped in and I remember praying silently in my head asking God to please let me not puke or pee in my pants while on the ride, meanwhile I was also yelling at my friend for making me get on the ride and bawling like a baby all at the same time. My heart was beating so hard and fast that is felt like my heart was going to pound out of my chest and some words that I try to avoid saying at all costs started flying out of my mouth and I could not stop them. It was one of the most traumatizing few minutes of my life on that ride. After I got off, I started crying again and my friends told me they had never seen my face turn green before. I was a total wreck, and immediately asked to call my Dad after I got off the roller coaster because I needed to hear his voice so badly. There is something to be said though about facing your fears. You feel somewhat proud for putting yourself out there and breaking out of the safety/comfort zone.