By Sam Kitchen

“I can do this,” I told myself. I stood on a hill overlooking my house. New situations have always made me nervous, and this was no exception. I looked hesitantly over my surroundings one last time and pushed off. I had no idea what kind of trouble I was about to get into.

Learning something new can be a frightening experience, and one of the hardest things I had to learn was how to ride a bicycle. After several months of being called a “scaredy cat” by other kids, I decided that riding was something I had to learn. I had been watching other kids ride their bicycles, zooming around while I was still on my training wheels. I wanted to be like them. I knew I needed the extra exercise and I knew it would help build my physical health. What I didn’t realize was learning to ride would also come with a powerful and painful lesson.

As the sun blazed down on my face, I looked down and felt for the pedals. Then, for a split second as I left the top of the hill, I felt weightless. My feet seemed to float off the pedals while they were turning faster and faster. Joy overfilled me. I had finally done it!

Suddenly my front tire hit a rock. I went flying over the handlebars onto the ground.

I was a little shaken and dazed when I finally got up off the ground. My forehead throbbed in pain. I looked at my house to see my mom running out the front door in total panic. Then the earth seemed to move out from under my feet, the world spun for a moment and everything went black ….

At the hospital, I awoke to a serious situation. The doctor said I had a minor concussion and partial amnesia, but with some care, I would be fine in a couple of months. He said the healing of my head injury would take some time.

Over those months, I made it through some very slow nights with excruciating pain. While my body healed in time, my fear didn’t. The accident etched the fear of falling deeper in my brain. I tried to ride several times, but failed to follow through. My parents told me I had to learn to overcome my fears. I just couldn’t get over it.

But my brothers were riding already and I was getting tired of just watching.

Finally I worked up the courage to go out and ride again. It was not easy at first. I felt hopelessly uncoordinated. Sooner than imagined, however, things began to feel right. Then, I was able to ride!

I finally realized I would have to face my fears head on if I was going to overcome them. Learning to overcome my fear was not easy. I was scared to death of riding, but in the end, pushing through my fear paid off. Not only did I learn how to ride, but I learned something about myself and achieving my goals. Now when I am faced with a situation that frightens me, I know I can overcome it. It may feel uneasy to begin with, but I know that as I practice being in that situation and as my skills get better, I will get more comfortable with it.

It’s a wonderful, free feeling when you rise above your fear and achieve your goals. If you’re facing something difficult, don’t listen to your fears. Focus on your goal and achieve it! Don’t look at your fear. Go past it. You can do it too!