“No,” I said firmly, “I’m not going.”
Dad let out a deep sigh of disappointment, while mom and Jimin exchanged looks and shrugged. Awkward silence lasted for a minute or two. It was like someone hit the “mute” button. After a while, Jimin finally broke the silence.
“Why not?” she asked with uncertainty.
“I can’t,” I answered.
Aviophobia, the fear of flight, is very common among Americans. About 1 out of 5 people has aviophobia, and three years ago, I was one of them. I had a faint memory of boarding a plane when I was so little that I could not even walk. Although I could barely remember what exactly happened on the plane, I became afraid of airplanes after that day and always refused to board one. That was why I said “No” when my parents suggested visiting Uncle Ryan over the summer with my cousin, Jimin. Uncle Ryan lived in Qingdao, China, and I had to fly on a plane in order to get there.
The next day, Jimin asked me to come over to her house so that we could have a
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I stared at the door for a while even after the door was shut again. Still confused, I leaned back into the armchair and started reading. I don’t remember what exactly the memoir was about, but I do remember that it was a story of little Jimin working hard to overcome a hardship and finally making it. I was very touched by the memoir back then. Even after I walked back to my house, I could not get rid of the short passage out of my mind, so I kept thinking about the memoir. The more I thought about it, the more I could understand, and I finally figured out what she meant. I decided to overcome aviophobia.
That night I had a long talk with mom. She was very glad that I made such a hard decision. After 30 minutes of discussion on what could help me defeat my fear of flight, we finally decided to visit Uncle Ryan over the summer. Dad booked flights for us. Time flew by, and the day of the flight
She picked a seat in the way back, away from all the people. She silently stared out the window making a quiet list inside her head of all the things she had forgotten and all the people she remembered. Tears silently slid down her face as she remembered her aunt crying and cousins afraid of the dark in their house. She couldn’t do it anymore. It was the best for everyone she thought. Deep down though she knew how hard it would be for everyone to find out she was leaving. From her family’s tears, to the lady in the grocery store who was always so kind and remembered her name. She also knew how
My mind started to wonder though each room of the house, the kitchen where mom used to spend every waking hour in. The music room where dad maintained the instrument so carefully like one day people would come and play them, but that day never came, the house was always painfully empty. The house never quite lived to be the house my parents wanted, dust bunnies always danced across the floor, shelves were always slightly crooked even when you fixed them. My parents were from high class families that always had some party to host. Their children were disappointments, for we
After this event, the reader can really see that deep down, the protagonist loves and cares for his father. As he hears his father enter the house babbling gibberish, he begins getting worried.
As I waited in line for the haunted walkthrough my heart felt like it was coming out of my chest. As I got closer to the front I could hear the screams of the workers and the guests. Then, I finally got to the front of the line, the black curtains blocked what was inside from my viewing which made it worse. The director told us to go in and this is the time I have been waiting for for
.... “Fear of Flying.” Time Magazine. Rpt. in Time Book Review. 6 Mar. 2008 .
To tell the truth, traveling used to be one of my biggest fears, I tried to avoid it as much as I could and the first time that I had to travel, I was sweating, shaking and, cold. But as I was traveling more often that anxiety that I felt was gone. Also, speaking in front of an audience used to give headaches, every time I had to do a presentation in front of the class, I would get extremely nervous and end up losing points. These experiences taught that, the more people do what makes them feel apprehensive, the more they will get used to it and get over
Phobias have been in existence for many years. As humans we fear things that are life threatening and unnatural. Someone who has an irrational fear of something is considered a phobia, which is an extreme illogical fear or dislike of something. Fear is a very common emotion which distinguishes from phobia regarding the severe distress someone with a phobia goes through. Fear is a rationalized and instinctive emotion that comes in response to a threatening situation. The reaction caused by fear can be managed. Phobias can hinder someone’s life. People who struggle with phobias constantly avoid the object of fear, and will do anything required not to see it. It’s hard to directly to clearly figure out the cause regarding
It was time for us to leave and board the plane to America. I was very excited to get to America, I was also anxious to see my Dad who I haven’t seen in months. The flight was long, I can remember in the air was my first time feeling turbulence, whoa let me tell you it was a scary one it felt like the plane was about to crash. I was anxious for the plane to land. When we arrived we exited out the plane and head out to the train inside the airport in order to go to U.S. customs and border protection, to get our documents sorted out, so that we could enter the country.
First, I had to take a flight from Phoenix to Los Angeles. Then when we arrived in Los Angeles we had to go through the security process to another country. I waited to a line that lasted for almost an hour, they checked my bags, asked for my passport, and patted me down. Soon I boarded my flight to London, England. As I walked onto the plane I realized this was the biggest planes I have ever seen. The plane was two stories and had multiple sections. I saw first class and wished I could have the luxury of sitting up in those giant spacious chairs. Sat down in my coach seat and dreaded this twelve hour flight of no leg room. I looked around to see all other girls from the west coast that also won All American. Once again anxiety flooded my body, I knew absolutely no one
October 20, 2007, the day that I’m going to say goodbye to my hometown. I was born and raised in Philippines by my grandparents for sixteen years. It is heart-breaking to think that I will not see them anymore like how I used to. I was 16 years old, and it will be my first time to travel with my big brother in the airplane. Our trip from Philippines to Virginia is approximately about 18-20 hours. It is not a direct flight, so we have to change plane three times, and it is a long trip for us. I was crying the whole time when we were in the airplane. As soon as we reach our last destination which is the Washington D.C., we have no way of communicating with my mom and auntie because we have no cellphones. I was hesitant to
Attention Getter: According to the article “Phobia Statistics” from fearof.net, “Nearly 15-20% of us experience specific phobias at least once in our life. In the U.S., nearly 8.7% of people (aged 18 and over) have at least one extreme specific fear and nearly 25 million Americans report having the fear of flying phobia.
I recently purchased plane tickets to go to Hawaii and anticipated Olly to come along with me. He had slight doubt when I told him, but I reassured him that I would be on medication, so nothing inimical would happen. It wasn't a superior choice to lie to him, but I want to experience life like a normal kid. Fortunately, Olly agreed and we proceeded into his car. My first substantial accomplishment was was being in a moving car. It was an intense experience and I was really thrilled, but also heavily apprehensive. We arrived to the airport and got onto the plane. I have never seen anything so immense in my life! Shaking in fear, I slowly proceeded to board. I couldn't imagine what it would feel like while I was in the air. My eyes lit
We all have our fears, rather it be flying or driving. However, when a phobia is present the individual has extreme irrational fears that interfere with their quality of life. For example a fear of heights may limit an individuals living or employment choices. If this individual is offered the job of a lifetime, however, the office is located on the twentieth floor; they will refuse the job due to the fear of heights.
She slammed the door behind her. Her face was hot as she grabbed her new perfume and flung it forcefully against the wall. That was the perfume that he had bought for her. She didn't want it anymore. His voice coaxed from the other side of the door. She shouted at him to get away. Throwing herself on the bed and covering her face with one of his shirts, she cried. His voice coaxed constantly, saying Carol, let me in. Let me explain.' She shouted out no!' Then cried some more. Time passed with each sob she made. When she caught herself, there was no sound on the other side of the door. A long silence stood between her and the door. Maybe she had been too hard on him, she thought. Maybe he really had a good explanation. She hesitated before she walked toward the door and twisted the handle. Her heart was crying out to her at this moment. He wasn't there. She called out his name. "Thomas!" Her cries were interrupted by the revving of an engine in the garage. She made it to the window in time to see his Volvo back out the yard. "Thomas! Thomas....wait!" Her cries vanished into thin air as the Volvo disappeared around the bend. Carol grew really angry all of a sudden. How could he leave? He'll sleep on the couch when he gets back. Those were her thoughts.
Taking that flight was nothing like the flights I’ve taken before. I had just recently celebrated my fourteenth birthday a week before being told that we were taking a trip. My dad wanted to surprise me for keeping up good grades in school. With my father working in the military and knowing a lot about other countries, I couldn’t have asked for a better gift. Went