I looked up until my neck literally cracked, and honestly? Just watching it made me feel dizzy. The coaster was screaming—this mechanical beast twisting and diving with a roar that made my stomach do backflips. And that was just from the sidelines.
I was two seconds away from pulling a "ninja vanish" and sprinting for the exit. But then the "adulting" part of my brain kicked in: “Bestie, we spent way too much on this ticket to just walk away.” I tried to convince myself I’d be happy just wandering around, looking at the aesthetic lights and eating overpriced snacks.
But then I saw the faces of the people getting off. They were glowing. Total pure vibes. Even the little kids were running back to the line like it was nothing. No fear. No hesitation. I was like—how is everyone so brave except me?
After a massive internal debate, I finally joined the queue. I told myself, “Look, you paid for this. Just do one ‘baby’ ride and keep your eyes shut the whole time. Manifesting survival.”
The wait was a total fever dream. I stepped out of line once because the intrusive thoughts were winning, then I felt FOMO and stepped back in. I was pacing around, acting like I was just checking the "height requirements" to look busy while everyone else stared at me like I’d lost it.
I'm literally an adult, and here I am, shaking like a leaf.
Finally, I’m buckled in. Even with the harness locked down, my brain is like, "What if the chain snaps? What if we just... fly off?" Before I could even finish that thought, some kid nearby let out a random bird-shriek, and I started screaming my head off.
And then... the floor dropped. They actually started it. The audacity! The next three minutes were pure, unadulterated chaos. My vision went blurry, my stomach was basically in my throat, and closing my eyes did absolutely nothing. I was just out here fighting for my life, screaming like a banshee.
But then, it started to slow down. I stepped off, legs shaking, took a massive breath, and that’s when it hit me.
It was actually... fire? Like, it wasn't even that deep.
I realized something right then: Fear is only a thing for the people watching from the fence. Once you're in the game, you're too busy living it to be afraid.
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