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This spring, I have been training to run the pittsburgh half marathon on may 5. I have been afraid that I won't be able to run farther distances, or that I will do something wrong in making my training plan and get shin splints, which I have had several times in the past. So far, I have been surprising myself every day during my runs and I'm a lot faster than I was during cross country. If I hadn't ever signed up in the first place, I would never have come this far, so I'm really glad that I faced my initial fear and signed up back in February.

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I went to Montreal, Canada with my dad when I was in third grade. It was a super cool but super scary because I was a little 8 year old that couldn't speak the language of everyone around me. One of the scariest moment's of my life was when I had to go order a ticket for the zip line (in French) by myself and ride the zip line by myself because the weight limit was about 150 pounds and my father unfortunately didn't qualify. After successfully ordering my ticket, the zip line operator started speaking in French SO QUICKLY and the only word I understood was "stairs." I must have looked very confused because he suddenly asked me in English if I spoke French, and I shook my head and he repeated everything in English. So I guess I didn't really overcome my fear because I just stood there shaking and looking lost until he realized something was wrong, but either way I made it to the end of the zip line without dying so I count that as a success.

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I have an intense fear of spiders. One time, just this past year, I found a spider in my car and tried killing it, but then it got away. I had to go home though, so I faced my fear and drove all the way home with a spider somewhere with me in my car. It was terrifying. I was on the verge of tears. However, I had to get home somehow.

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At the end of freshman year, I was debating whether or not to join cross country the next year. I'm not a good runner and I hadn't run a lot before that and I was scared that everyone would judge me for being slow. But, I had a lot of friends on the team and I wanted to join to stay active. So I did. I got over my fear and I joined cross country and I love everyone on the team and we all became a family, and besides the actual running aspect, I haven't regretted my decision.

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I rarely face my fears to accomplish things because I am a very passive person. I literally always find the easy way around so oops. I am afraid of a lot of things that make it a little hard to just exist so that is fun. But one time I actually asserted myself to someone to solve an issue and it did not really work out in the best way but at least I did it.

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In my past, I have tried to pursue my dreams and goals by being prepared, which helps in overcoming any fears associated with the trials along the way. Regardless, there tends to be that gnawing feeling in my stomach whenever I am confronted with something that makes me uncomfortable or afraid. But in order to truly grow and get past those doubts, it's important to find the inner strength and courage to push beyond any hesitation. If you live your life in fear, you will miss out on so much.

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This past season, I was very nervous to play in soccer season. All of preseason, I was nervous to play Northern. Northern is our rival and stopped us from winning the division last year. And this year, we all worked really hard to achieve our goal. And the first time we played them, we were up 3-0 in the first half. But, they came back and tied the game to go into overtime. Then, all of our hard work and dreams paid off, because we won the game 4-3.

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I am afraid to set my goals too high because I think I will disappoint myself if I do not reach that goal. But this swim season I set my goal really high. It was going to be really hard for me to reach my goal, but I decided to set it high so that I would work harder than I ever have before. Sadly, I did not reach my goal but I got closer to it and I know that I can definitely accomplish it next year.

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Tomorrow I will have to face my fears of heights, elevators, and small spaces. I have feared all of these things for as long as I can remember. I have gotten a little bit better with elevators, but I still do not like them at all. I would rather take the stairs than an elevator. Tomorrow I will be going in the Statue of Liberty, which I am not that excited for because it combines all of my fears. Thankfully, I will have my friends and my mother there with me to get me through it. I am really hoping that it will be worth it and everything will end well.

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This past season in volleyball I started on varsity and I was very nervous that I was going to mess up and ruin a game for us. It has always been my dream to play on varsity because I have always seen the older girls doing it and never thought I could be that good. Before the first game and all day at school that day I thought I was going to throw up, but once I got on to the court and started to play I became much more confident. After that day and how I played I knew I deserved to be there.

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Following your dreams is easier said than done. We often let not only our fears, but our doubt and lack of self-confidence keep us from pursing what we want to achieve in life. It can be difficult to push past your fears and follow your heart, however, doing so is a necessary step towards the future that you will not regret in the end. Think of a time in your life where you chose to look past your fears to accomplish something, was it worth it?