I am standing at the edge of a platform getting ready to trust a wire and a harness to hold my weight. What.  Am. I. Thinking. The only things running through my brain are:

“ Don’t look down.”
  “Don’t look down.”
  The employee says, “ Ready to go?”
  I nod my head, but I have never said a more dishonest sentence in my whole life.  He begins to count.
“Five.” He says.
“Four.” He says.
“Three.”  He says, his voice growing.
“Two.” He says, his voice growing louder.
  “One!” He shouts. I reach deep down to find whatever courage I have to overcome the fear that is taking over me.

I jump. The employee pushes me. I begin my journey to explore this amazing, gigantic boat -- the boat is the biggest one that Royal Caribbean owns-- while flying through the air. I feel the wind whipping my hair around like a cyclone, and I feel like I’m inside a seashell from the noise of the waves crashing and the smell of sea salt surrounding me. I tell myself not to look down, but eventually I face my fear. My stomach drops down to my ankles.

The view is amazing, but also terrifying at the same time. It feels like I’m looking down a bottomless pit. I see hundreds of people swimming and splashing around in the pools below. There are people of all ages, some toddlers and some old enough to be my grandparents. It is like watching little multi- colored polka dots bob around. I also see people eating lunch with their families.

“ What is that sound? Oh, it’s just that little girl screaming for dear life.” The people below are probably saying.
I don’t know how I will have my voice by the end of this ride.  As I’m flying by like a racecar driver, I smell the beautiful aroma coming from the different restaurants. The fresh pasta and the steaks grilling combined perfectly with the smell of the salt water. It is enough to make my mouth water.

I pass over the pool where the professional divers are practicing and it looks like they are jumping from the same distance that I am ziplining from! I can’t imagine having to flip through the air from this height! Yikes! But it is like having my own personal diving show. I even look to the side to see my parents worried faces.

“ I hope she lands safely.” I can almost hear my parents saying.

Eventually, I look up to see if my joy ride is nearing a close. It looks like I only have a few more feet left to ride until I have to get off. I felt the wind in my hair, and smelled the sea salt from the ocean for one last time from the air.

My feet hit solid ground and a bittersweet feeling comes over me, my ride is over and the fear is gone, but I miss the view of the ship and the wind in my hair. The employees help me take off my harness and the safety gear that kept me airborne, and I am on my way to explore more of the ship…

“Until next time!” I tell myself as I look back at the zipline.