Fear by Becca Lefkowitz

As some may know over spring break I went to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, and it was absolutely GORGEOUS. Oh my gosh, I was in the car thinking "eh big deal it's just another 1/50 states we have what can possibly make it so special?" LET ME TELL YOU, I was so incredibly wrong. The atmosphere was strikingly beautiful, the southern people and their hospitality warmed me the second I stepped out of the car into a local gas station to stretch my legs. I literally fell in love the moment I got there and the time spent was incredible. We did multiple fun things, like go bike riding, see BABY dolphins, watch sunrises, and my personal favorite, stuff our faces with food.

Chick-fil-A has the best fast food don't @ me

However, something that was one of the most memorable things during this trip was definitely when we did an aerial zip line course. Aerial zipline is where there are obstacles high up in trees way above the ground, and one is strapped into a harness, attached to a rope, where the objective is to get through the obstacles set in place from one side to the other.

Before we can begin our adventure, we had to adhere to the safety precautions followed by suiting up in our gear. So the first thing they had us do was strap into our harnesses. Sounds easy right? All you do is put your legs through and pull it up. Correct, but one problem, my dumb self decided (to be the only one) to wear short workout shorts, instead of leggings. Okay, Becca, it's not a big deal that you're wearing shorts get over it, well here is where you're wrong. The harness had to go as high as POSSIBLE up your legs leaving my shorts all tangled up underneath, causing my mom to have to wedge her hand up the harness in a flimsy attempt to lower the shorts. This was so embarrassing being in front of other people (specifically teenage boys) who began to stare.

hehe me & my mom LOVE twinning

I tell myself (in my head of course) to get over it and move on, which I do. After walking for about five minutes, we reach our destination where the obstacle course is. My immediate reaction was "woah this is cool and looks like tons of fun," because high up in the forest there were ropes attached to bark on trees and wooden platforms in the air hanging. We climb up the stairs to reach the beginning of the obstacle course and as we arrive, the instructors give us one last lesson about safety and begin to hook us up. I was in line behind my mom filled with nerves and excitement when the instructor pulls me aside and begins to hook me up to the cable. Now I was filled with confusion, as of WHY THE HECK I WAS  GOING FIRST!!??? Like hello sir, I was not at the front of the line for a reason!!

Alright, so cool, there I go leading the whole line attempting to not make a bigger fool of myself with my shorts that had gotten re-tangled and a wedged up harness. The first few obstacles were manageable, all I had to do was walk across a skinny platform, and hobble through and around these barriers on a thin piece of wood. It wasn't until I got to these ropes that were shaped in a U just dangling from the cable, not attached to each other, just air. I was so freaked out at this point just seeing ropes swaying, my heart started racing, and my body began to numb. It may sound lame but I have a fear of ropes, it always brings me flashbacks to attempting to climb them in gym class, where I would literally dangle from about half a foot in the air, while the boys around me are spider monkeys speeding through it. I would always get so embarrassed that every time I would get to the front of the line, I immediately went to the back cycling through without actually going.

This gives me PTSD 

As I was standing there my dad finished the course behind me and one after another people were finishing the course waiting for me to move along. The line continued to increase, and my fear was heightening as I knew I had to go. After telling myself to put on my big girl pants, I stretched my right leg placing it onto the rope. Immediately it begins swaying, as my grip grows tighter on the rope. Now I move my left leg onto the same thinly wired rope, and my whole body begins shaking. I proceed to the next rope, by grabbing onto the rope in front, hoisting my body across it, forcing the rope to swing back and forth, as if I was on a swing set. I honestly don't remember much of what happened next, everything is kind of a blur. All I do remember is my dad behind me encouraging me, telling me not to quit. Well like great advice dad, I can't really quit now as I'm 30 feet in the air, attached to a cable in the middle of the woods, but hey at least he tried. I was so done at this point, I wanted to curl up in a ball and hide, but my final motivation for the remaining two ropes were the pesky mosquitos that were flying around my face. Because I HATE bugs I jolted through the course hurling my body through the air, bouncing off of each rope as quickly as possible to get to the other side. Finally, after what felt like a dragged on hour, I reach the platform, falling onto my hands in knees hugging the tree, with my heart pounding in my chest.

AHHHHH  !!!

After I caught my breath I was overwhelmed with the feeling of pride because I was exceptionally pleased with myself for managing to get through it, and conquer the ropes. It was an amazing feeling because afterward, I was able to get through the harder levels of the course. This allowed me to leave the place feeling accomplished and excited to go back next year with a few straggling bruises and bug bites.