Life is a child on his first roller coaster ride at Six Flags. Afraid to death of the people screaming their heads off and the thought of being hundreds of feet above ground at an exhilarating speed of 60 miles per hour, he waited in line with his parents on each side of him. The three of them entered the long line, and the little boy plastered a smile on his face, anxious for what laid ahead. But as hours passed by, he grew restless and nagged his parents to make the line go faster. Unable to stay in one place, he walked in circles, jumped up and down, and climbed on the poles that separated each row. But soon after his whining and complaining that his legs hurt, he faced the gigantic car; the Raging Bull. He gulped as his dad sat on his left and his mom sat on his right, both helping him buckle into his seat. He knew they would be there to hold his hands and closed eyes as he prepared for the battle to come. The little boy jerked forward, and as his body leant backwards, the whole system accelerated slowly on an incline. He braced himself for he knew what was coming. He squeezed his parents’ hands and tears ran down his face like a water faucet, soaking the collar of his shirt. The little boy’s world was in slow motion, and being an innocent little child, he wished with all his heart that the roller coaster would just stop where it was. However, despite all his wishing and praying, he felt himself at the climax; he was on top of the world. His heart beat rapidly for what awaited him at the bottom, but everything was downhill from there. No more suspense, no more waiting, and no more internal battles. He felt his tears dry up as the wind pushed his hair out of his face while he screamed at the top of his lungs letting all the stress he had held for the past 2 hours out. After many more twists and turns and unexpected ups and downs that made his stomach do flip flops, he found himself at the exit, failing to suppress the wide grin on his face that told the world he had just conquered his first roller coaster.
Life is a young adult on his second roller coaster ride. After successfully defeating his fear of roller coasters, he found himself in line once again, this time surrounded, not by his parents, but by his many friends. Forgetting about the long line he had once complained about years ago, he spent the nauseating long time playing games and flirting with the girls. He sat in a roller coaster car his friends all around him as they all laughed nervously and joked around with each other. The all too familiar ride started again and he found himself once again feeling himself go up. He held his breath at the top, squeezing the hand of his girlfriend as she buried her head on his shoulder, and they all let loose as the roller coaster increasingly sped downhill. After several loop-the-loops and more downhill experiences, he and his friends found themselves at the exit, the boy again failing to suppress the grin on his face.
Life is a father on his third roller coaster ride. Many years later, he found himself in the position of his parents, taking his son on his first roller coaster ride. He no longer felt the excruciating pain in waiting in line, but instead understood that this was part of the experience of riding the roller coaster. Without waiting in the long lines, he wouldn’t be able to achieve his goals and overcome his fears. Through his past experiences, he helped his son feel better about the adventure that was nearing them; he became someone that his son looked up to for advice and guidance.
Life is a new roller coaster. No one knows what it has in store for you, with unexpected twists and turns and the pain you must overcome to successfully come out through the exit. Life teaches you patience and helps you become the strongest that you can be. Each time life throws another curveball at you and you experience the stress again, you learn to accept the hard times and learn from them so the next time it happens, it won’t be as bad. Like the little boy chose to go on the roller coaster, we choose to make certain decisions not knowing the outcome of it. Yet everyday, we learn from these decisions and help others through the process of growing up.
1. Did my extended metaphor effectively portray the relationship between the roller coaster and life?
2. What suggestions would you give me to make my extended metaphor better?
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2 comments:
1. This poem shows the progression through life, but what can a roller coaster say about life itself?
2. Is the roller coaster always seen as a positive experience or is it sometimes scary or otherwise negative?
If I were to make a revision, I would focus not on positive experience of life, but also the negative aspects of it too, such as how depressing or scary it can get. Also, I would focus on how related life is to a roller coaster instead of just explaining it.
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