My heart was racing, waiting to be locked in. My brain would surely need the extra blood when all the rose-colored liquid in my small body drained to my feet.  I figured once I was strapped to the rollercoaster, I wouldn’t be able to change my mind. My cousin, Jacob, and my brother, Braden, were encouraging me, and telling me to follow through.

               Braden was excited for me to have this experience. “You’re not going to regret this, trust me!” As an eight-year-old, I wanted to scream, but I held it in.

               Just a few hours earlier, I got in the car with my brother, cousin, and Aunt Jenny. We were heading to Busch Gardens. It was a sunny day, the perfect weather for rollercoasters!

               As my aunt was pulling out of my driveway, she glanced back at my brother and I for a split second. “Are you guys sure you got everything you need?”

               I was sure of it. “Yep!” I just wanted to go to Busch Gardens. I was always very eager to go, but especially for this trip. I had been measuring myself at home, waiting for the time when I was finally tall enough to ride every attraction at Busch Gardens. Fifty-four inches was the minimum. Lucky for me, I was exactly that height. Although I had been desperate to ride these big rollercoasters, my mom refused to allow me to ride them. My mom was deathly afraid of being on rollercoasters, but I didn’t want to be that way. I wanted to experience the rush of life. Because my mom would not be present, no one would be able to stop me from going on the big rides.

               “I think I want to try going on Montu today.” I knew saying something like this was as good as committing my life to a promise, so I had to be prepared.

               My brother turned to face me. “Awesome! Remember, you can’t back out now, you said you were going to do it.”

               “Yeah. I will….” I proceeded with caution, carefully selecting each word I let slip out of my mouth.

               Within the next twenty to thirty long minutes, we arrived at our destination. To me, it was the most entertaining place anybody could ask for, even I hadn’t gone on any of the “exciting” rides yet.

               As we parked and got out of the car, my aunt got our attention and took out a sunscreen bottle. “Don’t forget to use sunscreen!”

               “Yeah, mom, we will.” Jacob began a conversation with Braden, talking about what to ride first. As we sprayed the icy sunscreen on our light skin, we conversed about the excitement to come. When we were all ready to go, we headed to the tram stop where we would be driven to the entrance. When we got on the tram, I could feel the fast vibrations of the seat. We made our half a minute journey to the entrance, and then got off.

               My brother was a roller coaster enthusiast at the time, always seeking thrill. “I hope Sheikra is open today!”

               “Yeah, me too!” My cousin anxiously walked forward to where we got our tickets scanned. Jacob also enjoyed roller coasters as much as my brother.

               Once we got our admissions approved, we made a quick stop at the restrooms to get everything out of our system, making sure nothing got in the way of our fun. We then made our journey to the closest rollercoaster, Montu. It was a tall blue coaster with a twist. It is called an inverted coaster, meaning the track is on the top, and the cars are on the bottom, leaving your feet hanging.

               My brother kept urging me, reminding me of my commitment. “You said you were, so let’s go!”

               “Yes, I will.” I was very scared, but I was more scared to be a chicken than I was to ride a rollercoaster. So I mentally prepared myself. I was measured, confirming that I was about fifty-four inches in height. Although, I did stand on my toes only to the point where it wasn’t noticeable. We got in the five-minute queue, and that was when my adrenaline started pumping. I stayed quiet, however. If I talked then, it would be obvious that I was terrified.

               A few minutes later, we were just getting on the coaster. As I pulled down the large harness and clipped in the buckle, my heart started to beat faster and faster.

               Before I knew it, we were moving. Up the coaster the chain took us, getting higher each second. I let out a little scream, and my brother laughed. It wasn’t only fear, though, it was also a bit of excitement. We got to the top and overlooked the entire parking lot, then quickly turning and making our way down. It was a rush of adrenaline and a great amount of g-force that I had never experienced before. There were so many inversions that I couldn’t help but count.

               As the ride ended, my brother eagerly looked at me. “Did you like it?”

               I was on a rush of adrenaline, and I loved the feeling. “Yeah! Let’s go on another coaster!” I was so proud of myself for going on this ride, and words wouldn’t stop flowing out of my mouth. “Wow! Seven loops! That was a lot! And we went so high!”

               My aunt was glad I enjoyed this experience, and very proud of me for trying something new. “We can go to the middle of the park, where the smaller rides are, or we can head to Sheikra if you want.”

               Braden and Jacob both agreed that we should go to Sheikra. I knew I would be able to conquer this ride, even though it was the tallest coaster in the park. The big red two-hundred-foot coaster seemed terrifying to many, including me. Even so, I just knew I could do it. As we began to make our way over to the other side of the park, the large red coaster grew more and more clear as we approached. As we walked forward to the queue entrance, the employee standing in front of it noticed that I was quite small.

               “I’ll have to measure you.” As I stepped forward, he looked at the marking in line with my head. “Ooh, barely… but he did it. You can go.”

               I was excited that I was allowed on this coaster, but I was still scared. We climbed some stairs and were up to the boarding platform. As I sat down, I once again felt the adrenaline and excitement, this time even more. I pulled the harness down and wrapped my hands around it. After all the safety precautions were taken, we were off. The frightening coaster moved forward and took a turn to start the ascension. It was way louder than I had expected, making loud clicking sounds every second or so.

               Before I knew it, I was two-hundred feet in the air overlooking downtown Tampa. We made a slow turn, then began to face the ground. Then we stopped. I knew this was part of the ride, however, from the number of times I had watched this coaster running. I had a mix of fear, excitement, adrenaline, and anticipation. Within five seconds, the car dropped, and I experienced one of the most exhilarating things an eight-year-old can experience.

               When we got off, I was just as energy rich as I was after Montu. And from that day on, I had no more fear of rollercoasters.