Fear of Roller Coasters

Roller coasters. The ways an ordinary rod of steel could be deformed into so many twisted and turning ways amazed me. The loops and the drops seemed to be endless. The roller coaster seemed to be racing towards the sky at outrageously high speeds.
I was waiting in line to ride the amusement park's latest roller coaster: The Silver Bullet. I did not want to go in the first place and was perfectly content with riding the teacups, but my friends persuaded me to go. Just watching the passengers get into the cars made me shake. I was very afraid of heights (and still am) and the giant bars of steel over a 100 feet high did not ease my fear.
I wasn't quite sure why I was afraid. Maybe because I was afraid that something would go wrong, and I would be flung out of my car and fall to my death. But I knew that this was highly improbable. Thousands of passengers had already ridden The Silver Bullet and no accidents had happened. Deep inside me I knew it was perfectly safe and nothing would happen to me, but I couldn't just ignore an irritating fear in another hidden, deep corner.
The lines were closing in and I found myself in the car - all buckled and ready to go. I wanted to jump out and run away. As the man behind the controls asked if everyone was ready, my fear suddenly overwhelmed me and I was tempted to scream and jump out. Instead I sat there speechless with my hands white from gripping the safety bar. I told myself one last time: Nothing will happen to me. Millions of people have already done this.
Before I knew it, the Silver Bullet took off and I was screaming at the top of my lungs - not because of fear but because I was enjoying it so much.
As the ride came to an end, I was so glad I had faced my fears of roller coasters or else I would have never learned that I enjoyed them so much - despite my fear of heights. People can control their fears, just as I controlled mine. And once you face that fear, you will learn that there's nothing to be afraid of after all.