Everyone has their fears — snakes, heights, and the like. Well, one of mine is planes; I'm afraid of flying. I've only flown on twice in my life, from my home in New Orleans to DC and back. My mom is afraid of flying, so I guess I inherited that trait from her.

So, I refuse to fly. Every time we want to go on a family trip, we've driven the car around the country — we've gotten to see some pretty cool places, because of that, too, like LA; San Francisco; Bar Harbor, ME; Boston; Vail, CO; and the like. However, even though I've almost been to all 50 states, not wanting to fly limits where I can go in the future, one of my dream destinations being Ireland.

Well, Saturday, March 30th, my friend gave me the opportunity to test my fear of planes; her family was having a fly in at an airport an hour south of Tuscaloosa, and her dad was going to let everyone fly in his four-seater plane around the area. Myself, Eva, Alexis, Jacob, and Nick went.

At first, I was against the idea completely, I just wanted to see all the small planes people planned on flying in. But, as soon as I got to the tiny airport (there were about two runways and a small tower), something came over me, and I actually considered going airborne.

I went and met my friend, Eva's family, including her dad, who was our pilot that day. I looked towards their little four-seater plane, a metal box that was supposed to keep us safely in the air. He was telling us about how we're going to fly over a small town nearby and back, an 18-minute journey altogether, but all I could focus on was whether or not I was willing to push myself and get on that plane.

I walked away for a second, to use the restroom, and Eva and Nick were airborne. 20 minutes later, they were back and it was our turn. Everyone knew how uneasy I was, so they encouraged me and were trying to make flying not that big of a deal. "You'll be fine!" "It's like riding a roller coaster!" and the like. All of a sudden, Eva's dad told me how experienced a pilot he was, and there my feet went, slowly moving towards the steps to get into the plane.

Eva's family's plane (behind the sign)Elizabeth Gainey

We flung around the runway; three, two, one, and we were in the air. I was in the air. In a panic, I grabbed Jacob's hand, but a few second later, I looked around and was in awe. Looking at the town, the tiny ants of people, the tops of the trees, and the infinite sky around us, I completely forgot how scared I was. And, when Eva's dad suggested doing a low pass, I was already so outside of my comfort zone that I happily agreed to push myself a little further. After the eighteen minutes, I stepped off the plane with an ear-to-ear grin. My friends and Eva's family noticed how happy I was; I noticed how happy I was.

I wasn't going to push myself out of my comfort zone, but I did, and I got to take part in one of the best experiences of my life with my friends. Sometimes, even if you're afraid of something that seems trivial to most, it's good to force yourself to face those fears, because something great may just come out of it.