It was a warm, sunny day in the Western Caribbean.  I awakened to the sun brightly shining through the small opening in the balcony curtain.  I felt the warm sunshine on my skin and walked out onto the balcony to absorb my surroundings.  I urged the rest of my sleepy family to get out of bed and check out our first port on the cruise.  My family concurred that our first excursion would be ziplining in the oceanside hills at Saint Thomas.  We were escorted off the ship early in the morning right after we ate breakfast.  Our tour guide explained that it was smart to go ziplining early in the morning rather than the late afternoon because the weather isn’t as hot. We rode up the bumpy trail to the zipline registration shack.  We finally reached the top of the island and we were immediately fitted for our harnesses and helmets.  After my family got fitted for our equipment, we went under the shack for safety instructions.

As I sat by my mom on a wooden bench while we waited for our group to be fitted with gear,  I pictured myself zipping fast down the lines and I got slightly nervous.  I remember feeling scared when I was attentively listening to the zipline guide.  She was intimidating as she recited the rules and safety measures that we had to comply with.  I was trying to be attentive to what she was saying, but I kept telling myself that I wasn’t going to be able to overcome my fear of heights.  I was getting overwhelmed with all these precautions because she was speaking so fast.  My mind was racing.  After we were finally dismissed, we traveled up multiple flights of wooden stairs to the first platform.  The few seconds that I walked up the stairs felt like an eternity.  I remember my first glance overlooking the island was breathtaking.  We were about seventy feet up in the air, just overlooking the majority of the trees viewing the beautiful aqua ocean waters.

We were getting ready to take off our first platform, and I found myself asking all my family members to go before me.  I was extremely frightened to zipline.  I had realized that some of the lines were longer and higher than I imagined.  I quickly grabbed the smooth handles and squeezed them with all my strength.  My palms were sweaty.  I tried to remember the instructions from the tour guide.  I remembered to keep my knees tucked in and keep my toes high.  I wondered what would happen if the line or my harness broke.  These thoughts flooded my head before I jumped off my first few platforms.

At each platform there was a worker who would catch my harness with a rope to avoid collisions.  They wore brightly colored shirts that contrasted from their beautiful dark skin.  Most of them had long dreads that were worn in buns or ponytails.  The workers made me feel more comfortable as I overcame my fear of heights.  I continuously thanked each tour guide because they helped me tremendously through their comments and instructions at each platform.  As I landed and prepared to take off on the platforms, the workers were very patient with me.  They calmed me down by assuring me that I could do it.  I am sure they have dealt with many different types of people, so they were good at giving tips.  Each of them had wonderful personalities.  I could tell that they loved their jobs because they were filled with joy, happiness, and laughter.  As I reflect on the emotions that I had experienced on each platform, I realized that the guides were experts on distracting me from my fears and their friendly communication was helping me cope with my worry and nervousness that was racing through my entire body.

  The next lines were higher off the ground.  These lines were the most intimidating because you went faster across them.  When I jumped off the platform, gravity immediately pulled my body down and I felt like I was falling until I was caught by my harness.  The fresh air hit my face and I exhaled a deep breath.  I could taste the salt from the ocean on my lips.  While I was ziplining, I felt relieved, and I was excited for the upcoming lines.  Suddenly, as I was flying through the air, I wasn’t as scared and I overcame my fear of heights.  I changed my mindset while ziplining because I started to believe in myself.

I remember there was a particularly funny worker named Marc.  He was having a conversation with my sister, Kamree, when I was stopped from the previous zipline.

“You’re the first white girl I’ve ever seen with big black girl lips,” said Marc.
“Thanks,” Kamree questioned as she wondered if it was an insult or compliment.

Marc and my family were laughing hysterically together.  At this point, I was more relaxed rather than tense and anxious.  My emotions had changed significantly throughout our excursion.  I was extremely fearful of heights before my experience ziplining, but after completing a few lines I realized that I didn’t have to be afraid.  I let go of my negative thoughts while I was ziplining and filled my mind with confidence.  With this courage, I ziplined across the lines that seemed insurmountable to cross.

As I got more comfortable with ziplining, my focus wandered to the island.  One of the prettiest sights I have ever seen was Magen’s Bay.  I remember the scenery very vividly.  The water was as clear as a freshly cleaned window on the cruise ship.  The ocean water varied with different colors of blue.  Saint Thomas provided me with the most amazing scenery while I was ziplining.

I was in awe.

The sun’s light escaped from the clouds and sparkled on the water’s surface.  We could see fancy yachts and fishing boats in the water.  I could hear people laughing and screaming around me.  I took a deep breath in, and absorbed the fresh smell of the island.  The air smelt as clean as a sheet hanging on a clothesline to dry on a summer day.  Surrounding the ocean was nearly a mile of white sand beach.  Around the island there were beach houses and hotels.  The island looked untouched by humans because it was full of nature.  I understood why this is such a popular place to go on vacation for tourists.

We concluded our excursion in the oceanside hills in Saint Thomas.  As I rode down the island with my family, I realized that I changed while I was up in the trees.  While ziplining, I learned that I could overcome any fear that gets in my way.  In my head, tasks can seem impossible to accomplish.  I told myself that I should focus on having fun rather than focusing entirely on my fear of heights.  When I first learned to zipline, I wanted my time in the air to be as short as possible. By the end of our adventure, I didn’t want the lines to end because I enjoyed the adrenaline rush.  I learned that a little faith and trust in myself can go a long way.  While traveling back to the ship, I felt relieved because I achieved more than just completing the zipline course.  I wasn’t afraid of heights anymore.  I took a leap of faith and enjoyed spending the morning with my family.