Fear.  An emotion that we all have.  In some cases it can be a life changing event.  In my case it was a slow process.  Valleyfair is where it began.  I love Valleyfair now.  But that there was a time when I would not have even walked through the entrance gate.  It looked like I was asking to die.

The first ride that paralyzed me with fear was the Corkscrew.  The Corkscrew is a ride that has loops that make you go upside down.  I was scared of going upside down because I felt like I was going to fall off and plunge to sudden and imminent death.  After a lot of convincing and thinking, I was riding the Corkscrew and I liked it.  I was only going upside down for a short time and I know now that I will be safe as long as I am buckled in and restrained.  I liked it so much that I wanted to ride it again.

The second ride that made my heart race with fear was the Wild Thing.  The Wild Thing is the tallest roller coaster at Valleyfair.  It is 200 ft tall with a 60 degree angle drop.  Since it is the highest roller coaster with a really big drop, I didn’t want to try it.  But when I did try it, the big drop wasn’t so bad.  In fact it was so thrilling I rode it 3 more times.

Last, but not least, I was scared of the Power Tower.  The Power Tower is not a roller coaster.  It is the highest tower at Valleyfair and it is taller than the Wild Thing by 75 ft.  There are 2 options on the Power Tower.  I either could go on the red tower, go up slowly and go down fast, or I could ride the blue one and go up quickly.  This ride took me longer than the other rides to try because I don’t like heights.  I thought that if I don’t look down and only looked straight ahead, then everything will be okay.  Once I tried the Power Tower, it wasn’t as scary as I thought. 

I now have a summer pass to Minnesota’s number one amusement park.  I got over the intimidation.  In order to get over my fears, I watched the rides for a very long time.  I weighed out the the danger factors.  I had to decide which will it be, the option of death or the thrill of living?  Well now I know, that the feeling in my stomach, as I make the plunge on the wild thing, is one of the most exhilarating feelings of all.  I want to ride them again and again.  I may even convince my family that a summer vacation, in which we tour the United States riding roller coasters, would be the best vacation ever!