Riding My First Loop Roller Coaster as an Adult
It’s never too late to overcome an old fear
“Today’s the day,” I said with conviction. “I’m finally going to do it.”
The fear grew in my chest. While I may have sounded confident, I wasn’t so convinced by my own words.
I was on vacation in Orlando, Florida visiting Disney World for the first time in years. I had been to the beloved theme park before as a child but never as a fully-grown adult.
As my friends and I continued to walk, we came to the entrance of the familiar-looking ride: the enclosed, launched loop rollercoaster that I had been too scared to ride in my youth.
The memories came flooding back. I remembered my mom and dad bending down to my level in an attempt to coax me on, encouraging me to be brave.
“You can do it, sweetie. It’s just a ride,” they said. “It will be fun.”
At the time, I had crossed my arms and shaken my head stubbornly. There was no way they could convince me.
“One day when I’m older, I’ll ride it,” I reasoned.
They had let the conversation slide, and we continued exploring the park that day. I recall the temporary sense of relief I had felt — knowing I was back to safety, back to familiarity, back to…
