Trying New Things On Vacation

There are often times in life when we do not want to do something because we think it will end up going wrong or working against us. However, most of the time once we actually do the certain thing or put ourselves through a certain experience it will turn out to be a positive thing. I often struggle with trying new things, especially things that I think I might do bad at. This is especially the case when I would be doing these things in front of a fair amount of people where if I failed, it would be an embarrassment to myself in front of others.

One specific example that is actually very recent where I did something that produced an unexpected result was when I was on my cruise vacation. Cruise ships nowadays are really big and have lots of fun activities to do on them which makes the whole cruise experience absolutely amazing and unforgettable. Two things that the cruise ship I just took a vacation had on the top deck was a big rock-climbing wall and what is called a Flowrider, which is a surfing simulator that this ship had at the back of the ship at the top. Both of these things I just watched for the first seven out of eight days of the cruise. It was a super fun place to hang out on the ship because it was fun to watch other people do these things and it was fun to watch people wipe out on the Flowrider. However, I never dreamed of actually trying it myself.

However, on Day 7, Kaylee, my sister, decided she would try surfing on the Flowrider. One thing that is important to know about the Flowrider is that there is Sports Staff on the ship that help everyone surf for the first time and more experienced surfers get better. Kaylee went with my Dad to get a waiver signed, then she hopped in line for the Flowrider and before I knew it she was out there and did not even do half bad for her first time. It got to be the night of Day 7 and I had not tried any of the stuff at the back of the ship other than the mini-golf and going down the waterslides. I was super nervous to actually try rock-climbing and the Flowrider because I would probably do so bad and humiliate myself in front of the staff and in front of everyone watching. I did not want to try it at all.

Day 8 morning rolled around, and it was the last day of the cruise, which was extremely sad but I decided even though I did not want to, we payed for the cruise and I never know when I would be on one again, so I had better just sign myself up and try these things. I first started trying the rock-climbing wall which I was super nervous about and expected to do terribly. However, I got in line and before I knew it it was my turn. The girl in charge put me on the middle rock-climbing track, which of course was the most difficult one. Great. However, after the first try where I fell right away and the harness let me down slowly, the staff member told me the first part is the hardest and that I could do it. So I started again and this, time I made it all the way to the top of the wall on the most difficult one and it was on my second try! When I was let down to the bottom, I was congratuladed by the staff member and by my family! This boosted my self-confidence and made me want to do it again. So I did and I managed to climb the most difficult climbing wall in thrity seconds, which I was told by the staff members was really good! This all made my last day a whole lot better and boosted my self-confidence to try the surfing too. However I got in the long line to try the surfing on the simulator and started getting really nervous again. What if I get hurt? What if I do terribly and humiliate myself in front of everyone watching and the staffe members? What if I do something wrong?

All of these questions were racing through my head. I finally got to the front of the line and it was my turn. I entered the side of the wave and the staff member was super helpful in helping me start surfing for the first time. Everyone watching I was easily able to block out of my vision since the wave was loud anyways. The first time I surfed out into the wave with the staff member steadying me and helping me do it. Once I got steadied he let go but then I wiped out instantly. However, I was determined to try again and do better. The staff member I was depending on him too much to hold on to me. So, I put it into my head that I could do this on my own. Once he steadied me I started pretending his arm was not there. Then he let go, and I just pretended he was still holding on to me but he wasn’t! I was surfing on my own. It was only my second try and I was able to surf for about thirty seconds by myself before wiping out. The staff member congratulated me and so did others. I couldn’t believe I had just faced my fears and actually done good. I then got back in line and went again and did even better than the first and second times.

Facing my fears and trying these new things was not fun and it was nerve-racking but once I jumped right into it, I surprised myself fully by doing really well for it being my first time, an unexpected result! This experience truly made my cruise even better and allowed me to connect with the sports staff. My last day turned into a great day. Sadly, it made it even more sad to leave the ship the next day though.

My experience of going out on a limb and trying something new and then surprising myself by doing well is similar to what happens in the book Divergent even though that is on a much bigger scale. The main character Tris, at the Choosing Ceremony, last second, even though she is very nervous about decides to choose the faction of Dauntless. She gets thrown right into things right after and can’t believe the super challenging things she has to face but then becomes determined to succeed and actually does really well because of her Divergence. She went out on a limb and decided to join a new faction expecting to probably not do the greatest but then was able to succeed. My situation was very similar but on a much smaller scale. I am really glad I tried the things I did because it made what was already an amazing cruise vacation even better. Sometimes we just have to face our fears and it will produce a really good result.

Photo By: Ethan Mousseau