"Overcoming Fears to Face Scares"

Would you go to a haunted house the day before halloween if you had difficulty walking? If you asked me this question on Monday of last week, "I would have said, "hell no."

My coworkers had planned a trip to the haunted house and all day on Tuesday I was back and forth if I should go or not. Around 1:30pm, I told my coworkers that I don't think I should go because I do not want to fall again and I think it will just be too difficult for me. Around 4:30pm, my coworkers came into my office and said that they had been talking and really wanted me to come. They told me they would hold onto my arms, so I wouldn't fall. I still was not convinced that it would be safe for me, so we decided to call the place to find out if the haunted house was accessible.

We found out that all but one part was accessible for me and they could walk me around that one part. The lady on the phone said that she would radio down to the people in the obstacle to let them know that I was coming and they may have to walk me around. I was still really nervous to go and decided that I wasn't going to go because I didn't want to stop my coworkers from having fun if I had to go slower or didn't feel comfortable  once I got there. Truly, I was worried about being a burden to them and ruining their fun. My coworker finally convinced me to go by saying that if I was too scared to go in once I got there I could just wait in the car or at the entrance of the ticket booth. Finally, I agreed to go!!!

The entire 40 minute car ride I was kind of freaking out because I had no idea what to expect and I was so worried about ruining my coworkers fun. 

When we finally got there I was still debating whether to go in or not but the lady at the ticket booth convinced me that it was safe for me. I even asked her how long it would take and she said,"Well, that depends on how fast  you can run." Gullible me started freaking out and was like "I can't run at all" but then she told me she was joking. 

In the end it ended up being a great experience. At some points, I felt like running because I wanted to get out of that part of the attraction and at other parts it was too quiet and you knew something was going to jump out at you at any moment. I screamed, I laughed and I definitely did not feel like a burden to anybody. 

In the future, I want to try new things and not let my disability hold me back because I am scared to get hurt or ruin someone else's fun.  I also want to be a model for others with disabilities to try new things that may push them out of their comfort zone because with a little help I truly believe that anybody can do anything. 

Most importantly, this experience taught me that most people want to help other people and asking for help is not being a burden to anybody. Thank you to my amazing coworkers/friends for teaching me this very important lesson. 

Written by 
Sydney Breslow 





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