Life is like Wicked [the rollercoaster]. BY MARIA ZOLOTSEV

Life is the swift, speed of light, Wicked rollercoaster in the heart of Lagoon. As life unexpectedly straps you in, and you have not one single clue at what you’re about to face. At times it’s impossible to withstand the exhilaration, where otherwise you grasp on with anticipation and cold, dripping, sweating palms. The ride begins as you steadily maintain the courage in your veins. Life then shoots you up into skyscraper highs at times and even the downright dirt lows. Sometimes, you have the choice to hold on with your eyes glued shut or nervously forced open through the air defying twists and stomach churning turns, either way there is no erasing the pen on paper. You possibly will pray for your dear life as you dangle over a precipice or you develop a conflagration of exuberance in a matter of seconds. It’s just what you make it. Around you, you aren’t alone; there is a coalition of miscellaneous emotions on the expelling ride, some companions, others—strangers. Every moment is valued, every minute is remembered, and every person spares time before the greasy brakes scr-e-e-e-ch to an earsplitting halt…gravity then is forever omnipotent all appears as a dream.

We all are authors in our own way, the problem is we all write in pen and can’t erase what we do. Is it a mistake or maybe it’s just a method of life? Nobody can clarify for certain but sometimes the Wicked rollercoaster lingers for its next victim to obtain, waiting to grasp you with its heartless handlebars and tie you down; leading you through a time warp in life. The sentiment is something no novel, dictionary, or word can elucidate…only attempts can be made. So let me inform you the best I can about the time I was strapped on, without warning, on Wicked; the traps of all traps and the maze I am pushed to go in.

If you remember your first time in Junior High, you’d know the word in usage would be unpredictable. It’s a start to an finish, and beginning to a start. It’s the new satisfaction and also a new armored enemy. Hold on, this is the part where I come in.
Me…Maria. Age 12, knees shaking, my heart pounding like a million drums; that’s about all I can tell you at this point. The only bright side is I have a bucket load of buddies and lifetime friends holding me up when I am tossed down. Safety straps. I arrive and you can practically hear the theme song of this new comedy show flash on and the conductor tells you the rules of the ride and to keep your arms inside the journey at all times. Wait a minute. Flash back. It was Mrs. Covington’s strict voice over the school’s intercom blabbing on about the no-hugging policy and so on, no disrespect, but seriously I had other things to do. This was the ‘Hillcrest Junior High’.
The bell rings and I scurry on to class with the other ‘sevies’ and sit in my seat for the next five minutes. WOW, first one in my seat eh? Others soon join and accompany my lonesome self (aka loner) and the moment the handlebars lower onto my lap. Everyone is in their permanent seat and no living thing is getting up under any circumstances. Fortunately, to my surprise, the class didn’t leave me snoring like an old man in church. To be precise, I had a heck of a time. All day my stomach was aching from laughter, I was impressed with the ‘homies’ I gained, and man, the teachers hadn’t yelled at me and they weren’t like the old coots back in elementary. Me…Lucky? For sure. The rollercoaster’s rockets blasted me up as I was strapped in, just kept shooting straight up into the tip top as the day progressed, like a rush of energy fulfilling my body at 65 miles per hour. I was at the moment in 7th period, talking and chattering the day away and nothing in the world could go erroneous…so I thought.
The final bell boomed through the empty hallways and the vacant area was compacted with 700 students rushing back to their homes, a stampede if you ask me. It was like being in the Lion King movie when the stampede of animals rushes back and forth. Now, my life at this point on Wicked, I was experiencing twists and turns, jolts and rushes, whatever the action was I was amazed at the damage the student body can do…the hallways are a huge washing machine for heavens sake! A short ‘sevy’ was making her way through the crowd in an instant she disappeared into the sea of people. “She’s a goner.” I remember thinking.
She needed to hold to the handle bars…but no.
I made my way through the crowd, eyes wide open and aware of the wild surroundings. There, I wondered outside of the Hillcrest doors and into freedom. At this point, you might as well turn on the ‘final countdown’ song. Inspirational.
My friend, Maygon, and I made our way to her house, located so close to the school that they were practiacally neighbors, to hang out and talk about what went down that day. Of course, to get to her house we had to go downhill to the destination. I was aware of everything and in the best mood I’ve ever been it…too bad I wasn’t aware of the next single thing. GULP. Let’s just put it this way; it poured buckets of rain down the hill and I was so unaware of the slippery shreds of grass. In an instant, I fell…well, tumbled to be honest.
SPLAT. That’s right. Happy first day of school? That was not the situation. I landed going faster then the wind, rolling and tumbling on the ride screaming my dear head off, just to land flat on my back, into a deep puddle of murky mud. Egh. There went the sudden fall on my ‘Wicked’ adventure approximately 70 MPH and rated -1000 on my mood scale.
My newest clothes were a mess and I was so surprised that it wasn’t even funny. Twists and turns, ups and downs, everything had suddenly crashed after such an ideal day. You would think I was ‘okay’ but my no-I-don’t-think-so look was enough of proof already. It was a nightmare. PURE NIGHTMARE.
Oh, and lets not forget Maygon, oh no. She, herself obviously had done this before and hadn’t given me warning. She sat their laughing at me like a hyper hyena. Companion, huh? Pshhh.
Like all people I’m not perfect. Sometimes to get somewhere in the world you have to just go on the Wicked to lead you there. It’s up to you whether you want to have a good time or have a horrible, no good, time. Bottom line; Life is a Wicked rollercoaster. Just be strapped in, hold on the safety bars, and take off with best intentions, it’s all you can possibly do.