For the majority of my life I viewed roller coasters as a pointless and dangerous. I had many trips to Six Flags, Universal Studios, and Knots Berry Farm between the ages of 7-15, but not once did I get on a roller coaster. All my family and friends, including some that were younger than me at the time, loved roller coasters. That made it embarrassing and frustrating for me being the only one afraid of them.
Once during a trip to Six Flags when I was 11 years old, I had in mind that I was going to face my fear and ride Colossus, one of the smaller roller coasters at the theme park. So I waited in line with great fear. As we got closer and closer, my fear grew greater and greater, and when it was finally my turn to ride, I was so scared that I was shaking. I climbed in to the cart, and in less then 1 second, I jumped back out. I ended up chickening out and let my family ride without me. That gave me the idea that I would go the rest of my life without ever riding a roller coaster.
As 4 years went by, I had gone to amusement parks several times, but no longer thought about riding a coaster. Until one day while my mom and I were at Knots Berry Farm, she called me a “little girl” for not wanting to get on Ghost Rider, a roller coaster at Knots. As any 15 year old boy would respond to being called that, I told her “Oh hell no! Lets go!” So we got on the ride. It went by so fast, that I felt as if it hadn’t even started when it was already over. That was the biggest thrill of my life! I suddenly fell in love with roller coasters. My opinion about them had completely made a 180-degree turn and I am proud that it did.
