Wind in my hair, racing down the
road without a care. There’s nothing
quite like this feeling, though I suppose you could say that about almost
anything really. But it indeed is a
uniquely free and exhilarating sensation.
Whether it’s riding a motorcycle, boating, riding a Ferris wheel, or
driving my car fast with the windows down and the music up, it all brings my
mood way up.
Riding on the back of my dad’s motorcycle is an especially liberating, sensory
experience. Unlike riding in the car,
I’m completely exposed to the world around me and notice things that I probably
would have never noticed while driving.
It’s a much more connected experience.
Passing by neighborhoods where people are walking or working in their
front lawn, I feel so close to these individuals, like I could reach out and
touch them both physically and emotionally.
I’m not separated from these people by a pane of glass, like I would be
in a car; instead, they’re right there connected to me. And as my dad makes it out of town and starts
to increase the speed, I revel in the wind pushing and pulling at me; and most
of all, I feel the speed. It makes me
feel so wild and free and worries fade away.
All there is is this moment. I
look down at the road, watching it fly by beneath me, the dotted lines of the
road becoming a blur of motion, and in this moment the rest of the world seems
to fade away and I feel like I’m flying.
No…I am flying, because
reality truly is what your mind chooses it to be, and since I felt like I was
flying then I truly was.
Another great speedy adventure is
boating. Pretty much it’s the motorcycle
exhilaration plus water. Oh wonderful water…so many fond memories out
on the lake. Ever since I was a baby,
summer weekends were spent out boating on Swan Lake. So, needless to say, there’s also a comfort—the
comfort of familiarity—to boating, out on the water that I know so well,
feeling the soothing thrum of the motor beneath me, the soft mist of waves
splashing at my face as we speed across the lake. Now I’m a mermaid…a flying mermaid…
…Riding a Ferris wheel. There’s another fun experience, though the
first time I rode a Ferris wheel wasn’t so much, initially at least. I was in second grade and my older sister’s
friend Michelle wanted to take a ride on the Ferris wheel with me and I was
excited! I’d never been on a Ferris
wheel before…it looked so fun and it went up so high! Once we got on the ride and the wheel began
spinning however, my stomach went along with it. I crushed my eyes closed and cringed at every
up and down motion, but Michelle held my hand the whole time, and this gave me
the courage to calm down and slowly start to get used to the sensation until I
actually started to enjoy it. The up and
down spin became a fantastically fun experience, and now that I was able to
open my eyes and look around without freaking out, I gazed in wonder at the
view. So high up, everything below
looked so small: a dollhouse world. Way
up high in the Ferris wheel there’s a disconnect from the world below me and
everything is edged with a cheery, adorably perfect veneer. When I first get off the ride, that veneer
lingers with me, and I think to myself: “What a wonderful world!”
One last experience I’d like to
discuss is driving my car with the windows down and the music up. Pair two wonderful things together—speed and
music—and I've got pure magic. My
favorite song blasting on the radio, I bop my head to the music, air guitar-ing,
shaking my body about, shuffling my feet, and singing along at the top of my
lungs. When I stop at a stoplight, the
person in the car next to me sees my antics and either smiles and laughs at me…or
gawks at me like I’m crazy. Either way,
I don’t care what that person thinks because in that moment I’m caught up in
pure magic. …And why should I feel wrong
for experiencing that?
I remember when I first started
taking behind-the-wheel for driver’s education and had my first time driving
with my driving instructor...
One of the first things she commented about was her surprise
at how fast I was driving. Since I’m a
shy, quiet person, she thought I’d be a slow, cautious driver. But she doesn't know the true me: a speed
demon with a deep love of speed.
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