2007 STORY # 3 – ROLLER COASTER OF YOUR LIFE

A roller coaster.  For the past four years, I have been on an adrenalin roller coaster called SNAP.  It’s really the only way I know how to describe it.  You jump on the ride, not knowing what to expect.  A little uneasy.  Nervous but excited at the same time.  They strap you in, and the train leaves the station.  Tentatively, you hold your hands up in the air.  Not sure if you made a good decision or not when you got on the ride.  You are going up the hill in anticipation.  Click, click, click.  Then, all of a sudden, you are in the free-fall of the first hill.  Wait for it…there it is!  The adrenalin rush!  What a feeling!  A little scared, but also a little thrilled.  Both screaming and smiling at the same time, looking at the person you are sitting next to for their reaction.

After that initial hill, you take a cleansing breath, but at the same time, you are looking ahead with expectation for the next turn.  Waves of hope, zeal, and intensity wash over you as you bash into your partner going around a sharp turn.  Then you hit the little hill that makes your stomach jump, and you go airborne for just a second.  Freedom.  Yet, all the while, there is another person next to you for support and reassurance. 

Soon, the brakes are applied, you jerk at the abrupt stop, and your adrenalin rush starts to subside.  You become disappointed because you know the ride is over…for now.  As you are getting off the roller coaster, you talk with other people.  Sometimes you laugh, give each other high-fives, and smile from ear to ear.  Other times you cry, scream in fear, and swear to God you will NEVER go on that ride again while you are throwing up blue slushy in the trash can.  But alas, you go back for another spin grateful there is someone in the world as adventurous (stupid?) as you willing to join. 

That is what SNAP is for me.  Sometimes I love the ride, and sometimes I curse it.  But I always come back for more.  Each experience is a little different, and I always learn something new about the roller coaster.  Another twist or turn that I didn’t notice before.  There is a line a mile long full of people with wishes, fears, dreams, desires, and despair.  I can’t wait to meet them and take a ride with them on the SNAP roller coaster.  It is a life-altering ride that is well worth the wait.  And every person, every conversation, every event, either good or bad is another twist, turn, or one-hell-of a hill.  With every ride, I grow a little more, become more enlightened, stronger, and braver.  Most importantly, I know I will always have a partner to ride with thanks to SNAP.