Fear of Roller Coasters

Fear

When I think back to a time that I let fear prevent me from doing something, I thought of the moment I went to an amusement park. My friends asked me to ride a roller coaster with them and I did not because of fear. I know fear held me back at that time, since I did not enjoy spending time with my friends, I had to be the one holding everyone’s bag, as well as wasting my money on a place that had nothing else to offer but roller coasters. Sometimes as a child, people can have sad or frightful experiences riding roller coasters, or being at an amusement park, which may develop a phobia of roller coasters later on in their life.
When I was about 8 years old, my family took me to Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. At that time, I had no idea what a roller coaster really was. They asked me to get on a ride that flipped me every direction possible. I felt sick to my stomach, scared and wanted to cry. I still to this day, will never get on a roller coaster. I’m terrified of heights, flipping upside down and going extremely fast. I’m hoping, one day I will conquer my fear of roller coasters to make up for all my lost time with my friends.
Not getting the chance to hang out with my friends prevented me from having a good time. I didn’t even think about the fact that we would be going to a place that had roller coasters. All that was on my mind was enjoying myself, and getting a chance to leave my house. Little did I know, I was bored the whole time. Being in a group of fifteen people and being the only one with this fear was embarrassing. All I wanted to do the whole day was go home. I couldn’t get over my fear of riding a roller coaster.
Being that one person to stay back with all of the bags, shoes and phones was beneficial to my friends because they did not have to pay for a locker or stay back themselves. They always tried to convince me to get on, and I never could do it. Sometimes, I’m happy that I’m the only one with this fear so I can say “It’s fine! I’ll just stay here with the bags” and not worry that they will try to talk me into it. They usually agree and leave their bags anyway. I have this strange fear that whenever I ride them it's going to crash or fly off the rails or something drastic, while killing everyone. Every time a friend would ask me to get on one, I began to have a panic attack. My heart was pounding in my chest, I began to sweat, and my legs went weak every time I saw the roller coaster drop or spiral.
Amusement parks are not cheap, purchasing a ticket and not riding any of the roller coasters is such a waste of money. Going to the park is the only way I can spend some time with my friends outside of school, work and home. In a way it’s worth it, but in other ways it’s not because I let fear prevent me from truly enjoying myself. I try to talk myself into getting on a ride and always back down. To think of myself flipping upside down, spinning in circles and going extremely fast freaks me out. I always get angry when my friends try talking me into it because I feel pressure to do something I know I’ll hate.
My fear of roller coasters prevented me from doing what I wanted to do. I didn’t get the chance to enjoy myself when I went to an amusement park with my friends. I always get stuck carrying their bags and always waste my money on amusement parks. It’s embarrassing to go to an amusement park and not ride any of the roller coasters. The thought of ever riding one scares me but I’m hoping I will get over this fear and try riding a less intense roller coaster my next visit to an amusement park. I’m sure I won’t like it, but it’s worth a try. If I don’t like it, I’ll remain the bag holder forever which is never fun for me!