Autobiographical Personal Essay

I have been afraid of roller coasters for a very long time. It is not simply the fact that they are big and dangerous looking. It is also not because of the heights of the roller coasters. The real reason that I am afraid of roller coasters is because of the fact that they go upside down and straight drops.

It all started when I was a little girl. Back then, I was in the Girl Scouts and we used to go to many places to celebrate for certain things and they would be our fun days. We would go to amusement parks and sometimes even water parks. Well, on day we went to one of these amusement parks. I do not remember the name of this park, but I do remember what I did. It was the first time that I went on this dragon ride. It was sort of like that certain ride that goes back and forth, but each time it went back and forth, it went a little bit higher into the air. I am sure that if you rode this ride, you would have thought it was fun. Well, I thought it was horrible. I keep thinking I was going to fall out of the ride and I was terrified. I wanted my mother and she was not there for me.

After my experience with that dragon ride, I have never really liked any other amusement park rides, even the water park rides. I remember this one ride at a water park in which we slide down this half cut tube one by one. I remember being forced on it and down it and it was horrible. My arms and legs were trashing everywhere to stop my decent, but it did not stop me at all. When I finally made it down to the bottom, my sister laughed and teased me.

Years later, I finally got a chance to face my fear head on. It was a game place where they had this simulated roller coaster thing. My friends persuaded me to get in it and give it a try because when they got in it, they thought it was really cool. Knowing I was scared of roller coasters, I got in it and waited for it to begin. Once it began, it started to twist and turn and even go upside down. I was so freaked out by it that when I got out, I did not say anything. And from then on, I had a fear of roller coasters with drops and upside down tracks.

A couple of years after that, I was fed up with my fear of roller coasters with upside down tracks and straight drops. Why should I be the one who always had to hold the bags when they got on rides? Not I, I would think. So, when I recently told my friends that I did not ride roller coasters, I let myself become persuaded to get on. When I got on the ride (Tatsu from Six Flags Magic Mountain) I was terrified. I knew this ride had upside down tracks, but when I finally rode the ride,  I realized that it was not that bad. So, I made a progression in facing my fear.

To prove to myself that I was fully over my fear, I decided to go on as many roller coasters as I could when I went with my fellow police explorers to Six Flags. I went to ride every ride that they went on except for X2. When I went on the rides I was still a little scared, but I was grateful that I went on them. It helped me become more relaxed and to enjoy amusement parks. So now when I see a roller coaster, if someone asks me if I want to ride that coaster, I would say no because I do not want to, not because I am scared of it.