I am scared of adventure sports. I am not even talking about the likes of skydiving, even the basic steep rock climbing kinds. I am scared of heights, water, basically every ‘fun’ thing. I really wish that I was the sporty kinds.

On a college trip to Jim Corbett some 3 years back, we had some adventure sports planned in the resort we were staying in. I actually did not pay attention to the fact that I may make a fool of myself because I am scared of even the simplest of adventure sports. So, the day for the activities came and if you had been there, you would have known how amateurish those activities were! There is no reason why an adult should be scared. Still, I made sure that I gather the attention for all the wrong reasons what with crying (with actual tears, people) and saying things like ‘I can’t do it, I can’t do it’ repeatedly like a maniac. Many people actually started feeling bad for me and asked my friends to let go if I don’t want to do it. I remember what my best friend said, “I know that she really wants to do this”. Yes, I did want to. I just wanted to get done with it. I did not want to think about it for the rest of my life about how I couldn’t even do some small, amateurish activities but when he actually said it, it is then that I got the ray of optimism that I eventually will be able to pull it off, after all the crying subsides. It is then that I realized there’s no other choice, I just have to do it.

I did manage to complete all the activities. Of course, not without making a fool of myself. I can remember a particularly funny incident. I know that I am scared of heights more than I am scared of the actual activity/task in any adventure sport. So, there was this one activity where you had to go the other side on a rope and I did not feel scared about it at all but I was scared to stand at that place from where they tied the safety belts on you because it was too high. My best friend told me that you can’t come back and I knew it would mean a lot to me and him both if I did just that. People who know me in real life would know that I tend to swear a lot in Hindi. Throughout this process of tying belts, I was mumbling swears in Hindi and the guy who was doing the belts for me just couldn’t stop laughing. That lightened the entire process and I completed this one activity in much better spirits.

I am still scared of adventure sports but that confidence that my best friend put in me, the way he gave me a ray of hope, a ray of optimism, a sense of believing in myself made me do what I otherwise wouldn’t have been able to. I consider myself lucky to be surrounded by such amazing people who bring out the best in me, help me have an optimistic view towards things with their own optimism.

The folks at Housing believe in just that. Being together, helping each other out to get back on the track of a positive attitude towards life. Don’t forget to check out their website for details about what they do!