The humid, hot sun was beaming on me as I sat in my blue beach chair. The salty, cool breeze was teasing me to jump right into the ocean as I sat there sweating like I just did the hardest workout of my life. I could hear voices coming from every direction, the screeches of excitement coming from children who were beyond ecstatic to be on vacation and the young mothers yelling at their children to stay away from the water. The sun was almost at its highest point for the day, and boats were flying across the enormous ocean waves as if they were all in one big race. People walked up and down the beach, deep into conversation and I wondered about their lives. All kinds of people were enjoying this beautiful, sunny, 90 degree day, except for me. 

  Next to me my family sat all of us closing our eyes and preparing ourselves for what we were about to do. Today was the day we were going to go parasailing way up in the sky. My parents were both in a deep daze, and expressionless. You could not tell what they were feeling as I tried to read their blank faces. I could see in my brother’s eyes no fear, but excitement that was its own personal smile across his thin, fragile face. I, on the other hand, could barely stand without my weak legs shaking and almost losing my balance. I was trying to focus on something, anything, to try and get my mind off my fears. Finally, I found that the sound of the ocean waves colliding together endlessly was my own personal sense of relief; it was my best friend for the rest of the day. It reminded me of all the good times I have had in Florida, and took away the nervous pain that shot throughout my entire body.
“Cali, it’s time to go.” my dad told me as he nudged at my arm. As my dad told me that, all of my thoughts vanished into thin air, I crumbled into pieces inside. I was not ready for this, at all. I stood up and tried not to look out in the ocean because I could see other people way off in the distance flying high in the air, like I was going to be in a matter of minutes. Taking one step at a time I made my way over to where the rest of my family already were standing, and those 20 steps seemed like I was walking a mile.
  A young, bald man started to give us directions on what we were about to do. As he began to talk I leaned my back against a thick, hot palm tree that was the only thing holding up my anxious body. As he continued to talk all I could focus on was my surrounding area of children who were carefree, and looked as if they didn’t have a worry in the world. They ran into the ocean as if there wasn’t anything dangerous in it; they all were oblivious to the evil in the outside world. They smiled so widely that their cheeks looked like they were going to fall off as they chased one another around. I was wishing I was a young, carefree child who didn’t get nervous, and wasn’t afraid of the little things in life. 
He then preceded to hand us our navy blue life jackets and told us to start our journey over to the boat. As I looked out into the ocean, I noticed that the petite boat was a good half a mile out there. My little brother had already sprinted into the water and was half way there before I could even move. I didn’t know if I was going to be able to physically get myself over to where it was sitting.
  As I stumbled to the water, I felt the thick sand disappear from under my toes and gradually my feet began to touch the thick, salty, cold water. The breeze was blowing my hair back, and in this moment I felt as if I was powerful enough to do this. However, as I continued to my journey over to the boat I felt as if I were a turtle that was never going to make it to its destination.
  How is it possible that I can feel so powerful, but yet have so much fear, I thought to myself.
  After of what seemed like a half hour, I pulled my unsettled body up into the boat, and took a seat next to my older brother who became my comfort zone. The engine started, and we began to move over the bumpy surface, and as we did I noticed that my leg was shaking up and down and up and down. The sun felt as if I was its only target, as the sweat on my body became more and more noticeable. I just wanted to get this over with, and I knew deep down that once this was over with I would enjoy it. Fear was the only thing holding me back.
  That’s the crazy thing about fear, it holds us back from the simplest of things, but we can’t always overcome it. Why is this? Maybe it’s because as we grow older we are afraid of judgment from others, or maybe we are just simply afraid of failure itself. I wanted to overcome it. I wanted to be the kind of brave that young children are.
  The boat came to a sudden stop, and the young man handed me the black harness and I began to try and put it on. My hands wouldn’t stop shaking as I tried to latch it, so the man came back over and helped me put it on effortlessly. My brothers were the first to go, they sat down on the edge of the boat as if this was the easiest thing to do, and it made me jealous of how fearless they both were. I knew deep down that once this was all over it would be an exciting experience that I would never forget. I just needed to believe that I could do this, and not doubt myself.
  They began to fly away as the boat moved forward, and waved to us as they began to disappear. The parachute, which was a bright yellow with a smiley face, lifted into the sky so carefree, that I began to feel calm for a while. However, when they began to look like they were ants as they flew higher and higher to reach the maximum height, a sense of nervousness rushed into my body. I looked over at my mom, and she already had her camera out to capture this exhilarating moment. I started to melt in my seat, and my stomach felt as if I had been punched continuously. I had no idea how I was going to be able to be that high in the sky. As I kept watching my brothers, I just kept feeling more and more at discomfort, I just wanted it to be my turn. My brothers then began to approach the boat, but it was a gradual decline that took forever. I could feel my stomach sinking lower the closer they came. Finally, they reached the boat and their faces were filled with pure joy. “That was amazing, I want to go again!” my younger brother shouted with a smile so big across his face, I had never seen him so happy. After seeing how excited they were it made me feel at ease, however, I still did not know how it was possible to not be scared.
  It was my dad’s and I’s turn to take on the challenge that I wasn’t ready for. We both stood up and walked over to the end of the boat, my dad walking faster than I, and we sat down as the man instructed us to. I glanced over to my left and saw the deep, blue water staring at me as if it was waiting to capture its prey. I began to grip the bar as if I was holding on for life as the boat kept rocking back and forth in the rhythm of the uneasy waves. I tried to remember the memories the waves brought back, however, all I could focus on was what I was about to do.  Far out in the distance I could see people back at shore enjoying their day at the beach. I wanted to be those people; I just wanted to not be afraid anymore. The guy asked, “Are you guys ready?” In no time at all I took one huge gulp and was flying away into what felt like eternity.