They say, there’s always a first time for everything, like delivering your ice breaker J
My first time to the theme park was when my school took us there.
As I used to see on TV, in theme parks, people were happy & laughing, but in this one, they were screaming!
On TV, people were eating cotton candy & pizza, but in this one, they were vomiting!
On TV, girls were wearing miniskirts, but in this one, they were wearing almost nothing!
Contest Chair, fellow toastmasters and guests, my friends and I were tuned-in to the most gorgeous girl in class when she was saying “oh, I want my man to be so brave”. The competition is on and showing off bravery became my goal. But the only thing stands between my bravery and her, is a huge roller coaster we are about to ride.
My friend Faisal “the brave one” goes first. 5 minutes later, his voice SCREAMING was all over the park! If he felt this way, how am I supposed to feel?
In order to impress her, I sat next to her.
Our cart is transcending up. She asks, can you put your hands in the air when we slide down?
Eyad: Of course, I can put my hands up in the air like I just don’t care!
Girl: Ok, can you take a selfie of us when sliding down?
Eyad: A selfie? why not a Zoom call?
Girl: Can you…
Eyad interrupts: YES I CAN! Do you also want me to unbuckle my safety belt?
Then I realized that the view in my eyes is slowly shifting from the sky to the tiny people on the ground. Before I know it, the cart drops down and with it, I lost my bravery.
My plan was to impress, but I was a total mess.
You know what! Forget about prince charming, I need something to hold onto, I’m trying to reach the safety bar, but I ended up dancing Balley Balley… The closest thing to me is her hand, I grab it tightly the entire ride.
The ride is over now, I am so ashamed. In a minute, I went from prince charming to Micky Mouse. She looks at me:
Eyad! I loved how you held my hand, its romantic, let’s go to the next one.
Like everyone nowadays, I Googled ‘fear of’ and immediately suggested:
· Fear of snakes
· Fear of public speaking
· Fear of people not laughing at your jokes
I typed on my phone, how to overcome fear of roller coasters and slides?
And apparently, there are two strategies.
One, start small, with least scary roller coaster and build it up. Two, start big. And of course, there’s a third one…. start praying.
Our next ride is a water slide called the ‘Leap of Faith’.
But when we got there, I realized that I needed A LOT OF FAITH to take the leap.
We climb up the stairs of the slide, higher and higher and higher, until it became so quite, I can hear the flying birds.
Now it’s time to slide down. She asks Faisal and I to go first.
The lifeguard places Faisal in a capsule and pushes a button Tzzz 3..2..1.. fewsshew he disappears! I’m next!
The lifeguard shows me how to cross my arms, legs, toes, but not my head. So, I call him ‘excuse me! excuse me!’ but he couldn’t hear me and is already closing the door. I start hammering the door, ‘EXCUSE ME EXCUSE MEEEEE’ and then it became quite in my head with one thought, what if, he pushes the button while I’m in this position! “OPEN THE DOOOOR”, the guy panics and opens the door ‘what’s wrong?’ both of them are looking at me.
hmm, “Can I put my arms in the air when I slide down?”, “No” Tzzz, 3..2..1.. fsheeeew!
Do you really want to know what happens next? Let me put it this way, luckily, it was a water slide, I was already wet.
And the girl? I wasn’t her prince charming, but!! she was the eldest of 7 sisters ;)
If there’s something that I’ve learned from this journey, it’s that yes there’s always a first time for everything but it shouldn’t be our last, because fear and courage go hand in hand, in order to be courageous, we need to face our fears. I’m going to face my fears, but what about you? do you have fears? Are you willing to face them? Say yes if you’re welling to face your fears even though I can’t hear you. Someone said no! oh, that’s my neighbor.
But by the way, next time you face your fears, whether you start big or small, just make sure to wear… dark trousers ;)
