Hello ladies and gentlemen my name is BLANK and I am here because I am a risk taker. Have you ever heard the expression “if they jumped off a bridge would you too?” My answer was a nervous “yes” to a free-fall jump off a bridge. This decision was a life changing one. It was a hot and humid day and my friends and I were out cycling for a few hours to fill in time. After a while we reached a foot bridge that was suspended over water.
We all stopped before it. Suddenly my best friend turned around and said “I dare you to jump off the bridge.” Not to say anything, but I have a huge fear of heights. I have had it since when I went for a short, noisy and scary flight in a light aircraft when I was five. I have problems just going up in an elevator let alone jumping off a bridge. I could see other people jumping off and screaming while they fell towards the water. The noise from the screams was making it worse for me as it was causing my stomach to tighten and making me feel sick.
So I decided to take the easy way out of this situation without embarrassing myself in front of my friends. “Yes, ok” I said nervously. “But, only if you jump first.” I added. He said “fine” then got off his bike and put it down and said to look after it. He then made his way to the side of the bridge and stood up on the rail. He waved to us and then he just jumped.
No fear or hesitation. He just jumped! I was amazed and then I hear a splash. Oh no! So much for the easy way out of this situation. I had assumed that he would decline and it would be left at that.
The Essay on The Bridge of San Luis Rey 2
People who thinks of Thornton Wilder primarily in terms of his classic novella "Our Town," The Bridge of San Luis Rey will seem like quite a switch. For one thing, he has switched countries; instead of middle America, he deals here with Peru. He has switched eras, moving from the twentieth century back to the eighteenth. He has also dealt with a much broader society than he did in "Our Town," ...
We watched him swim back to the shore and then he went out of sight. I knew it was my turn next. A few minutes later he reappeared triumphantly and announced that it was my turn to jump now that he had completed his end of the dare. With the spotlight on me and the pressure building as my friends cheered me on I decided that there was no way out and that it was time to face my fears and conquer them. I walked towards the side of the bridge, my heart pounded heavily and my whole body was shaking as fear built up and started to restrict me from moving but I slowly edged my way there. I looked over the side at the huge drop in front of me to the water.
I instantly crouched down and quivered in fear at the height I would be jumping from without anything to pull me back up like if I was going on an apparently safer bungee jump with professionals to guide me. But I had committed myself to conquering my fear of heights and I pushed away my fears inside me. I stood up on the rail and I closed my eyes and jumped. The wind whistled in my ears as I rapidly fell down towards the water and then the inevitable splash occurred as I landed. I had done it. I had conquered my fear of heights as I took the plunge to the water from off the bridge.
I swam back to my friends for my compulsory congratulations after facing my fear and I received it deservingly. It was difficult for me to go and jump off the bridge because of my fear which made this a real challenge. I am proud of what I had achieved and the whole experience was fulfilling. Now that I have faced this challenge I do not have problems with heights and going up in elevators so now I can go on without that fear. To conclude it is better to face your fears than be left wondering what if? This is an important thing you have to consider when you are presented with a challenge.
Sometimes you just need to “go out on a limb” like everyone here has, take up a challenge, go out of your comfort zone and face your fears and conquer. Thank you.
