Have you ever been in a challenge, or in a terrifying situation? Going through something hard and stressful can be tough, especially when it is terrifying. However, sometimes facing those fears or challenges can turn out to be a good thing. This happened to me when I was younger. It was horrifying, but it turned out to be a favorable thing.

       I timidly drifted on the water, sailing with a crowd of people. No adults. Horror was rising up inside of me and was overpowering my thoughts. I felt like my eyes were going to ball with water, but that would just make me look like a baby. A boat was dashing towards us, and I knew something was going to happen. Something crummy. I knew we were about to cap-size.  Dreadful things were rushing through my head. So was concern, butterflies in my stomach. 

       The person controlling the rudder yelped,  “GUYS, WE ARE GOING TO BE OKAY!” trying to keep everyone serene, even though that does not work when you are pirating. Like wouldn’t you be freaking out if someone was trying to cap-size your boat? 

       They were still trying to pirate us. Closer, and closer, and closer. I worried like a mother who lost her child; they were up against us. One person jumped from their boat to our boat.

       Now they were hanging onto our mast. It was just getting more horrifying every moment. I was concerned, not ready for the next event. The mast started to go back and forth with them fluctuating with it. Eventually, with one big push, BOOM!!! We were drained. The boat was on its side; we were in the water. “However, we can’t give up now. We have to get back on our boat, we can’t just leave it!” It was time for me to show everyone that I was mature and not a little cry baby. I started going towards the boat, trying to flip it back up. My “teammates” tracked along with me. 

       Eventually we all got to our most valuable accomplishment when we capsized, our boat. We got on the centerboard and all forced the centerboard into the water with one person on the side. We pushed, and we pushed, and we pushed. Eventually we flipped back over. One by one we got on the boat. Once we were all back on we set off on our journey. We decided to bypass everyone until we had to go back in. 

        After what felt like a protracted time, we went back in. Luckily, it was getting to the end of the day, so we just laid back and went swimming for a little while. That was the acceptable part of the day. A while later, my grandparents came and picked me up since I was staying with them. 

       That was my least favorite experience of sailing camp. The day after I wanted to just stay home, and so I did. I could not believe what happened the day before; I just needed to reset and relax. My “reset day” was fine, even though I didn’t do much. If someone asked, “Did you regret not going that day?” I would simply say, “No.” 

       The next day I was still a little tense. I didn’t know if we were going to do pirating or not. However, I shut down all the fear I had and went. The day did go smoothly. 

Now every year I go to sailing camp, even after that tragic day; it is very entertaining, and luckily there is no more pirating. I definitely was panicky at the moment, but now I am thrilled with the camp, which is the reason why I think facing your fears  turns out to be good sometimes. So next time you are worried, scared, or stressed, just think, maybe it will turn out exceptional. 

-Isla B.