Most everyone has a bucket list, myself included. It’s filled with crazy things, like
climbing Mount Everest and sky diving. Recently I had the chance to cross off number 8,
riding in a hot air balloon. My best friend Alex and I were bored on Thursday night so we
looked up places online that you could ride in one. We found a place that was cheap and
close by. Alex called and arranged for us to ride in a hot air balloon on Sunday morning.
It was all I thought about all weekend and I’ll admit, I was a little freaked out; my head
was filling up with “what if’s”. What if we went too high and got stuck? Or what if the
balloon broke and we crashed to the ground? That would hurt. Despite being nervous I
was super excited. This is something I have wanted to do since I was a little girl but my
mom was too afraid that something bad would happen. That’s why I think I am so
paranoid.


Sunday morning finally came and I was ready to do this, or so I thought. Alex and
I drove to the Balloon Ranch. We had to fill out a bunch of forms and wavers, saying if
anything was last it wasn’t their fault and things like that. Among the papers there was
one that was titled WARNING in big black letters. It said that there was a slim chance
that something could happen to the balloon such as there being a hole in it. Great, just
what I was afraid of. My mind quickly began to fill up with the “what if’s” again.


“Alex, I can’t do this. My mom was totally right. This is too crazy. There is so
much that can go wrong and I don’t wanna risk it.”


“Seriously? You have been waiting to do this for live ever and we are already
here. It’s too late to turn back now.”
My stomach began to knot as those words flowed out of Alex’s mouth. I felt like I
was gonna throw up. The words were in slow motion as they enter my ears. “It’s too late to
turn back now.” I tried to move but my feet were bricks in the wall, stuck. It takes all of
my willpower not to turn around and run away. Alex yells for me to come on, but I
literally can’t move. She reached out her hand. My brain was screaming for me to grab it,
but my arm gets the message ever so slowly. I just stared at her arm. She yanked my arm
and everything sped up. It’s all a blur. The only thing I can focus on is a giant rainbow
blob in the distance. As we get closer, it grows bigger. The balloon driver opens the
basket door and my heart beats at like a million miles per hour and my hands get really
sweaty.


“Alex, are you scared?”


“Nah, are you?”
Yeah right.


“You’re kidding right? Look at me. I’m shaking to the point where I can barley
stand and my hands are soaked.”


Alex gave me a not-so-comforting look. She raised one eyebrow and gave me a
crooked smile. With this, I couldn’t help but be more nervous.


The balloon driver flicked a switch and a bright orange roared out and lit the
balloon. He threw out the sandbags and he stared going up. I close d my eyes real tight till
we are at the highest point. I slowly open my eyes and everything was different. The grass
looked so green and the air was so crisp and cool. I loved it. The sky was actually blue
and I felt like I was in the clouds. Wow! I felt like I was looking into Barbie’s Dream
House, everything was so small. The cars were Hot Wheels. This was a birds eye view, a totally different perspective.


We spent about two hours in the air. When we began to get closer to the ground I
was kind of sad. I didn’t want to get out of the basket, even though I was hesitant to get
in, in the first place.


“So, what did you think?”


“Oh, I loved it. It was super great. We should do it again!”


“I knew you would love it!”
All in all I’m glad Alex convinced me to be gutsy and get in the balloon. I’m proud that I
got to cross off number 8, riding in a hot air balloon.