Students who decided to face their fears head on, said they left their experiences with a new outlook on life and memories they will tell their future children. Having fear will limit people, said Jango Bazar, but overcoming it will replace peoples’s fears with confidence. If people have a chance to do it, he said, they should.
Facing your fear
“My whole perspective of sharks changed,” said Bazar, a senior from the Philippines studying human resources and supply chain, when talking his experience swimming with sharks. Bazar said he swam with the sharks in October of 2020 through One Ocean Diving, a Haleiwa-based company on the North Shore. He was accompanied by his wife and brother in-laws. Bazar said the employees were very professional and educated them on the sharks, as well as the best way to dive with them.
Bazar said they swam with sandbar sharks and Galapagos sharks and his perspective of these ocean creatures changed once he got into the water with them. “They’re actually very harmless,” he said.
Bazar said swimming with sharks and stepping outside of his comfort zone was a way for him to be more adventurous and overcome his fears. He said, “If you have fear, you are more limited to what you’re doing. If you don’t have that much fear and you’re able to overcome it and replace it with confidence, then you’ll be more flexible.”
Bazar urged people to try new experiences, even if they are scared. He explained, “If you think it’s something you will remember forever, and if you have a chance to do it, just do it. It’s another accomplishment that you can tell your kids or your family in the future.”
Free falling
Makiah Rogers, a sophomore from Idaho studying communications, said she went skydiving in October of 2019 with a few of her friends. She described the experience as surreal, beautiful and something she would do again.
Rogers said her skydiving experience was unexpected. She said she was at the beach with her friends when another friend called to ask if they wanted to go skydiving. She agreed and her and two friends took an Uber to Skydive Hawaii to take on the adventure.
Rogers said when they arrived they signed waivers, were matched with a skydiving professional that was compatible with their weight and height, and then got geared up.
The skydiving staff teach people how to skydive, she said, saying they show people how to hold their harnesses. Once a person is suited up and trained, Rogers said, they are then taken to a “rinky dink” little plane that scared her.
Once she was in the plane, Rogers said, she looked outside and thought to herself, “I’m about to be falling out there.” She continued, “It’s surreal. Honestly, that’s a word to describe it best, surreal.”
Describing the experience, Rogers said, “[We] jumped out, and I was scared for like one second, but then it’s the best feeling. It doesn’t really feel like you’re falling because of the pressure of the air. You’re falling, but it doesn’t feel like that pit in your stomach whenever you fall. You’re just free falling.”
As she fell through the sky, Rogers said she could see all the way to the other side of the island. “You can see Pearl Harbor and all of that. You can see the city, Honolulu. And then, once you get closer, you could see the blue and all of the coral in the water.”
Flying over the water
Bazar said he also went parasailing in Honolulu on Feb. 6 of this year. He said the experience was fun and an easy way to overcome his fear of heights. It is also a great way to enjoy the whole island, he added.
“It was a really cool adventure because they’ll drive you around with the boat, then you’ll see the view of Honolulu, the mountains and the beautiful ocean.”
Bazar said individuals thinking of parasailing should make sure to not look down, since being up that high can be unsettling. He said, “We did the 700-feet excursion. If you look down, you’re going to get scared because it’s very high. But, if you ever fall, it’s the ocean, so I think you’ll be okay.”
Additional activities
For students looking for an adventurous activity close to campus, CLIMB Works Keana Farms, located in Kahuku, is a ziplining experience, the website says, which includes a three-hour guided tour, a farm land for exploration and an ATV excursion. Requirements for the zipline, the website explains, include participants being 7 years or older and must weigh less than 270 pounds.
Another activity that is unique to the island is hiking. There are hikes all around the island and each has their own view and difficulty level.
People can find information about these hikes on Google or the All Trails website or app. Simply look up a hike, or look on the map to locate a hike near you. In the app, information about difficulty level, length and other hikers’ opinions can be found.