Conquering Fear

As a young female traveller visiting the States alone with a vague idea of where I wanted to go and what I wanted to see scared my mother half to death, but made me feel invigorated, courageous and free. It wasn't till I was over there alone really put my courage to the test. Not knowing anyone on a bus filled with laughter from friends and family, I sat alone too shy at the time to make friends, I eagerly sat at the front of the bus that was heading for Grand Canyon. I did not want to miss one morsel of these historical and natural American plains. Berore we left Las Vegas it was a chilly day but the land was still so dry and evaded any snow and it startled me that half way through driving to the Grand Canyon there was snow on the path and covering the fields. As an Australian who had never seen snow before I was delighted at the prospect of finally being able to play in the snow. My patience could not hold me any longer on that bus and I ran off that bus when we arrived and went straight to the biggest snow pile and jumped in, not realizing that I'd sink in that far. I was like a turtle on its back struggling to get up, instead opting to do a snow angel first and asking for help from one of my fellow bus mates. As I got up and wiped off the snow and tried to make myself warm again the tour guide led us to the edge of The Grand Canyon. As I stepped closer to the edge, my breath was taken away because of its vastness, one could hardly believe this was real. Visualizing that I was apart of John Powell's exploring team discovering this new land for the first time I felt strong, I felt powerful, I felt I could conquer the world. Being on the edge of the cliff made you feel that death could befall you at any moment, but gave you that rush all at the same time. I could feel this was a treasured and spiritual place, not only to me but to the Native American Indians, it gave a sense of godly power and strength I image that many people before me drew on. I was forever grateful for this place in making me a fearless warrior.