`` Afraid Of Heights ``

“We have been in this plane for 2 hours,” Braden moaned. “Are we gonna get there anytime soon?”

“That is fantastic. I might get lost or confused if I went alone for my first time.” I stated.

“I still couldn’t comprehend that this might be a matter of life and death, that this was the most serious thing I’d ever been involved in.”

“Well you only live once,” I insisted, “what could go wrong.” I took a deep breathe and slowly walked back to the house, scared of the reaction I was about to get.

Fear holds back a person’s ability to commit to an event, a relationship, and contains one back from his or her dream. As a child, I dreaded boarding an airplane due to the altitude and the pressure closing one’s ears, a terrifying experience. In addition to my fear of airplanes, flights would absolutely bore me. Hence, my impatient reaction of shaking my leg in a fast paced, up-down motion, a nervous tick. Over the years, every time my parents announced a trip that required an airplane flight, the idea would horrify me. Nevertheless, the distinct moments I boarded airplanes, there were always hints of curiosity about the bird-shaped flying machine. How does this strange machinery work? How could an airplane be this frightening? That fear was the foundation of my commitment to aerospace engineering.

Height has never been a favorite of mine. Since I was a little child I have always preferred watching the scenery on land or maybe in the sea. Traveling by airplane would get me scared and panic attacks were common when taking off. Obviously, when I became an adult, I knew that I had to get over that. I knew that my job would have to take me somewhere and obviously I couldn’t take 3 months in a boat to get to wherever I had to go. I also love traveling and meeting new people and cultures but my fear of height has led me to only knowing of different places through Google. I never thought that hiking up a mountain was the best of ideas, but if I was going to get over this I had to go up slowly and the only way to do this would be hiking.

“I don't know anything about where I’m at, who you are, where you’re taking me, where my family is, or if they’re okay,” I said shyly.

“Hey man, take it easy we are gonna get home!” Peyton exclaimed and raised his voice. “I’m just not sure how.”

“Ok I’ll send a jet for you your possessions I’ll land you an agent too.” he told me.

“Yeah, we’re all fine, no thanks to you and the building you flew yourself into.”

Mama Elena's one fear in life is heights. The book first discovered this fear when she ha hit Tita in the face with a wooden spoon. Tita went to the dovecote because she knew of Mama Elena's fear of heights. Of course Tita would be safe in the dovecote and be away from her mother hitting or beating her again. “She couldn’t bear the thought of having to climb up that ladder, twenty feet high, to get to the little door that would have to be opened in order to get in.”(Esquivel 100). The dovecote was the only escape from her mother.

“I don’t know, okay” Cristina said , then bit her bottom lip. “Maybe coming here was a bad idea.”

“Look up at the sky. Tell me you guys didn't notice the difference!” he fretted.

Acrophobia – the fear of heights – is it an everyday irrational fear, or a real phobia?

I felt the eye of judgment piercing through me as I entered the plane. I could hear people whispering and giggling. While scanning the rows to find my assigned seat, I could see the looks of concern from those who thought I might sit by them. The clicking sounds of seat belt buckles almost sent me into a panic. I was dreading asking the flight attendant for a lap belt extension, or worse, having it offered without asking. Words were not necessary to feel the intensity of mass criticism. To make matters worse, it was a hot day, and my clothes were sticking to my body, outlining my multiple layers of over-indulgence. I was overheating and could taste salty beads of sweat trickling down my face.