I did something this month that physically was neither a workout nor a classifiable athletic endeavor; however, for me, a mental challenge that I deem worth writing about: Parasailing.

So this is fairly embarrassing since I went up on the parasail with my 10-year-old sister; but it seems that over the years I have developed a fear of heights. However, when my family decided that everyone was going Parasailing on our tropical vacation, I felt that it was not worth letting my fear stand in the way of a potentially awesome memory. (Plus, I had at least the boat ride out to mentally prepare myself).

My aunt, who is normally afraid of everything, went up first...very high up. But nevertheless, she came down smiling and said it was not only relaxing, but also a breathtaking view that we HAD to experience. And we were next.

As a big sister, it is my duty to at least appear brave: so I did. After being secured, we started flying higher and higher until the boat with the rest of my family on it looked like a toy. My sister was loving it and when I finally started breathing again and took a second to take in everything around me, it was honestly one of the most picturesque views I have ever seen. I’m not going to lie, we hit a few wind pockets that jolted us around more than I would have liked, but it was truly an adventure that I am so happy I experienced.

To think that a fear of heights could have prevented me from something like this is ridiculous! And now there are so many things that I would consider trying that were out of the question before. Perhaps you’ll see a sky diving blog in the future...

-Ashley Johncola