College Essay Rollercoaster Question

My daughter is writing a paper for her College English Course, on

-Searching for a Cause-

Her Topic -Why do people Ride Rollercoasters?-

If you could give her your insight on the following question. She will mention Pointbuzz.com in her essay, and give credit to you by quoting your Pointbuzz Name and statement made.

Her Question is:

Why do you ride Rollercoasters, and what emotions do you get which cause you to decide to ride Rollercoasters?

Thank you in advance for your answers, I will give my answer later.

I ride roller coasters for the pure thrill. Nowhere else on earth can you get the rush of speed and adrenaline. The anticipation of going up a lift hill, or waiting for your train to launch is on the brink of unbearable. After waiting months to ride your favorite coaster and reaching the top of the lift and now remembering how tall it is, priceless.

Because drugs are too expensive and tornadoes are too rare to enjoy on a regular basis.

Freedom... That's the feeling I get when riding, for that short moment of time, nothing else in the world matters.

While waiting to ride, my mind wonders what certain elements will feel like. Can I handle it, Is it too High, Is it too Fast, uncertainty.

Then once I am on the ride, back to Freedom...

I ride them for the thrills. Some people ride them because the feel the need to "Prove Themselves"

I love everything about from the thrill to the mechanics of it.

I ride rollercoasters because they are fun, thrilling and exciting. The anticipation I feel while climbing to the top, heart-pounding at that "just about to go over the first hill" moment, and the exhilaration of the speed, twists, turns, loops, etc.

And...I can scream my lungs out in public without looking like a complete and utter lunatic!

The anticipation of riding the coaster while in line watching it run, and hearing other people screams of joy(or fear)
The excitement of the ride ahead while going up the hill.
The thrill of your stomach being left behind you while you are dropping.
The speed of flying through the sky, or almost hitting the ground.
The release of adrenalin.
Dancing with death in a controlled environment.

Zinniadad said:Dancing with death in a controlled environment.

I like that quote. Thats how I felt when I was younger, while riding, and I think it still holds true today.

I am trapped in cubicle hell a good 250+ days of the year. I ride coasters for the sheer experience no matter whether the ride is fun or terrifying. Then when I am back at work, I can reflect fondly on those memories. Each time they let me out of my cage, I try to have the most exciting experiences possible, as once I'm back it is quite dull. The memories of previous and anticipation of future coaster rides helps keep me going.

To look at it from a scientific approach, the easiest way for us to experience pleasure is to overwhelm our senses. Whether it is seeing (art,) hearing (music,) taste (eating,) smell (flowers,) touch (not going there) nearly everyone has done this in their life time. There is however a sixth sense and it is not ESP, its balance. Riding roller coasters is merely overwhelming that sensory organ in a similar way as listening to music overwhelms your auditory system.

I think that kid will be plagiarizing your response there Touchdown....

I ride rollercoasters because I love the emotions that rush through me! I love the feeling I get in my stomach when I am waiting for the Coaster! The excitment that fills me as I listen to the chain or lift pulling me up and most of all the rush I get when you rush down that first hill! I know it also puts me in what I call my happy place wher I am not worrying about all the stresses in my life and I feel great! I know when it is winter, I count down the days until I can get to my happy place! I can't get that feeling anywhere else in my crazy life!!!!!

^^Thats ok, because I didn't originally say it, one of my professors did in his lecture on the vestibular system (balance organ.) After which nearly everyone of my classmates immediatly turned and looked at me, Im almost sure I was even wearing a coaster t shirt that day.

I ride just because its fun. They don't scare me at all. (Except Power Tower the drop side.) They just excite me and I'm mostly just a quiet shy kid but when you put me in CP; I'm unleashed. I just get really hyper and even jump up and down.

^ Agreed. :) Because it is fun!! I ride it for no other reason than that. I definately don't ride them to get scared. Because as Zach has said, coasters also do not scare me. Now some of the extreme thrill rides on the other hand, that is a different story. ;)

I love the fact that you can be going 90 miles per hour, thrown out of your seat, turned upside down, and still come out of it alive. :) I get terrified when my boyfriend goes 100mph in his car. But being on a coaster is completely different. I will say it again as I have said it in the past, I feel safer on a coaster than in car any day.

For the enjoyment, the whole thrill of the ride and being able to look at my friend next to me covering his eyes :). It's pure excitement and an adrenalin rush. It's also fun to learn about the whole mechanics of the ride.

What justification could your boyfriend have for going 100mph? I can't think of very many situations where I would need to go that fast! All of them involve either tornadoes or aliens.

Because I wanna go fast!

Pure thrill. Being tossed all over yet safely confined. Accelerating from 0-120 and then back to zero with no threat of a collision.

Very slowly ascending a 205 foot hill with the anticipation building, yet also having time to come to terms with the descent you're about to make. Compare that with Maverick or Millennium Force; you don't have as much time to build the anticipation but you also don't have the time to prepare for the craziness that you're about to have inflicted on your body!

And talk about anticipation....I waited nearly twenty years to be at a physical size where I could ride Magnum. It was MORE than I hoped it would be! My first experience with knowing I was 205 feet in the air and about to be thrown down 20 stories at more than 70 miles per hour being attached to tubular steel rails by nothing more than a seat belt and a padded steel lap bar!

Man I can't WAIT for next summer!!