The second Leap of Faith in my life, I thought it would be a piece of cake. I volunteered to go up the thin, tall telephone pole the first chance I got. To me, that pole was the only thing standing in the way of my getting rid of an interminable fear. I had already conquered my fear of heights last year on the camping trip when I did the old Leap of Faith. It would be easy; if you do something once, the fear should be gone, right? Without fear, I connected myself to the bungee cord. I could not contain my excitement. With the sun warming up my skin, I asked the lady belaying me, “Belay on?” She responded quickly, “Belaying.” I began the climb. I looked up at the telephone pole. How could I actually think I could do this?! But with my friends cheering me on, I began climbing. The combination of the breeze and the climb made the pole sway gently. I paused. When the pole stopped swaying I shakily continued upward, but with every step I took, the pole felt as though it moved a little more. Terrified, I couldn’t move another step farther. I stopped and looked down.

That was probably not the smartest idea, to look down. When I did, I started to tremble. “I can’t go any farther!” I yelled down to the belayer. She responded that I just had to be brave; I was almost there. But then my friends started cheering me on and telling me that I could do it. That made me realize that I had to do it, and I needed to conquer my fear once and for all. To make it to the top would not just mean reaching the top of a pole, it would mean conquering a fear and slaying one of the dragons in my life. As I reached the top, I was thrilled that I had made it. All I had left to do was stand up on top of the telephone pole so that I could jump. It couldn’t be that hard, could it? The standing up turned out to be the most grueling part. Eventually, though, I stood up on top of the pole. I was thrilled that I had made it all the way. I looked down. Knowing I had reached my goal and made it to the top, I could not stop smiling.

I jumped. It felt like I was in the air forever. I reached the ground and was unbelievably happy. I looked around and saw my friends smiling faces and nothing but woods behind them. What some people would think was only a pole, I knew was an important part of facing one of my most terrifying fears. I had conquered my fear of heights for the second time and I knew that this meant I could really do anything I set my mind to. My goal had been reached. For a second time, I had conquered my fear and made it to the top of the Leap of Faith.