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Overcoming Childhood Fears
By Joana

The words of my skydiving instructor echoed in my ears as I hung from the wing strut,
about to let go and let gravity take its course.

“The only way to overcome your fear is by believing in yourself. It does not matter if you
failed to hold the position after letting go, whether you screamed or cried. The most
important thing is that you took the first step and let go.”

I gulped. I had fallen off a tree when I was young, trying to rescue a stray cat and while the
physical wounds from the fall healed with time, I was left with a crippling fear of heights. It
was this fear of heights that led me to undergo the rigorous training of skydiving school,
just for this big moment where I would finally be free of the grasps of my childhood fears.

I tried to shut out my fear as I heard my instructor encouraging me to let go and take the
plunge. I thought about the pride I had seen in my parent’s eyes when I had informed them
about my decision to join skydiving school. I thought about the times I had been ridiculed for
my fear of heights.

“Jump! Or else you will fall stray of the drop zone!” I heard my instructor shout. I closed
my eyes, took a few deep breaths, and let go.

The first few seconds of weightlessness were terrifying. I screamed profanities and closed
my eyes so tightly hoping that I woulda land quickly and safely. However, after a while, I got
used to the rush of wind in my ears and slowly opened my eyes.

The sight I saw astounded me. I gazed upon the wide expanse of land below me. A smile
spread across my face as my fear changed to a feeling of accomplishment. The many
skydiving lessons I had flooded into my mind. Remembering all the drills I had gone
through, I opened my parachute and landed perfectly on the ground.

A roar of applause surrounded me as my classmates and my instructor clapped and
cheered. I had never been so proud of myself. I finally overcame the greatest enemy of
man-fear.

I was still shaking from adrenaline as we all walked back to the van, about to head back to
the base. Looking all around me, I smiled cheekily. “What do you all say about doing this
again next week?”

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