I saw my life flash before my eyes in the middle of the Irish Sea. Just a couple of days earlier, I made my journey from the United States to Ireland. After spending four blissfully cold in Dublin, my school group and I ventured around the city, celebrated Easter and became acquainted with each other before the rest of our twelve-day United Kingdom Adventures Tour. Even though the weather was unseasonably cold for April, the sun was shinning, casting a glow on the dew covered grass. I had never fallen in love with a place after first sight.
During our first days in Ireland, everything was perfect. We had delicious food, visited Grafton Street, where street performers entertained us and the smell …show more content…
Since it was early, I could barely keep my eyes open. I drifted off to sleep moments into the initial ascent. Suddenly, I was thrown forward to the seat in front of me. I peered out the window to see we were fully engulfed in the sea. A sweet voice came over the intercom, “Please don’t be alarmed”, she spoke in her Irish accent, “We are experiencing very high grade winds. Please remain seated for your safety”. My safety? Was my life in jeopardy?
We were over an hour into the trip, when the waves grew larger and larger. The passenger grew sea sicker and sicker. Myself included. The sweet voice appeared over the intercom once again, asking the passengers to move onto the seats in the center of the ferry since we were traveling through “hurricane” grade winds. HURRICANE GRADE WINDS? Between the sea sickness and the winds that have flipped cars over, torn roofs off of houses; I am floating on a small ferry boat in the middle of the Irish Sea. I thought I was going to die. …show more content…
I typically shut down when things are out of my control. My heart races, but I am not able to do anything about it.
Two years before my time in the UK. I was in a car accident. I was hit from behind by a young girl who was texting and driving. When my car was hit, I began to shake, but I was unable to talk. Even though the car accident was far from serious, I was completely out of control of the situation and that is what drove my fear.
Having control in my life is very important for me because I like things to go smoothly. I always plan and prepare ahead of time to ensure I am doing my best. Since I was only a sophomore in high school at the time of the accident, I was very upset about the outcome and since this day I have done everything I possibly could to avoid being hit by another car. I learned a lot from this experience. The most important thing I learned is that you cannot control everything, accidents happen and I do not need to live in fear.
***
As we approached the port of Holyhead, ironically the sun began to shine and the rain stopped. At that moment, I felt complete peace. I thought I would have been emotionally drained, but I was refreshed and ready to tackle Wales. I am still not sure how we made it safely to the port because we were in very treacherous