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ROCK AND ROLLER
ANON-HARTLEPOOL
   
  <your background>
1.Q Tell me about the first time you remember being thrilled.
1.A Age about 10 - I won a competition in my class at junior school to make a design from the initials of my name. I was thrilled to win because I was not popular at school, and had been bullied, but this competition was voted for by others in the class and I was thrilled they voted for me!
 
2.Q What’s the slightest thing to have thrilled you?
2.A I am thrilled every day by small shows of trust and affection from my son (aged 7).
 
3.Q What’s the most frightening yet thrilling thing you’ve done?
3.A Giving birth!
 
4.Q Tell me why you’re not completely sensible.
4.A Every year I take 6 weeks holiday at Disney World in Orlando, I become a child again.
 
5.Q What’s the most uninhibited thing you’ve ever done?
5.A Sex in a broom cupboard!
 
6.Q What have you considered doing for pleasure but were too concerned about the risks?
6.A Everyday stuff - for example I might consider going for a girlie night out but decide not to go because I'm too worried about risks to my self-esteem - I'll be the only one not to pull!

 

 
  <your thrill>
 
7.Q Describe the event in one sentence (there’s time to expand later)
7.A I went on the Rock & Roller coaster at Disney World.
 
8.Q Tell me a bit about yourself around this time.
8.A I had just lost a lot of weight, for the first time in ages I was feeling physically reasonably fit, and my self-confidence was better then it has ever been.
 
9.Q List the sequence of events leading up to your thrill. Try to remember how you felt at each stage. The smallest detail could be important (this is your chance to expand).
9.A

In 1999 went on holiday (as usual) to Disney World in Florida. I was very heavy and unfit. I was depressed and had no self-confidence. I was so big I could not fit into some of the rides, and felt like an observer watching the rest of the world having fun. I felt like I was letting my son down. I resolved to lose weight. The Rock & Roller coaster became my symbol of resolution – my motivation was to lose enough weight to be able to go on the coaster. I wanted to be 'normal'.

Over the next 18 months I made a lot of changes in my life. I lost a lot of weight. I was in the local paper and national magazines as "Slimmer of the Year". By 2001 I was ready to achieve my ambition. I had lost enough weight that I did
not feel self-conscious all the time, and no longer had the physical barriers to enjoying myself. I went to Disney World and went on the Rock and Roller coaster. I hated the ride, it made me feel sick, but it meant a lot to me to be able to choose to do it.

 
10.Q What were your thoughts and feelings at the precise moment of thrill?
10.A The moment of thrill was not the ride itself, but sitting in the car waiting for it to start. I felt that I finally I fitted in, I was normal! A sense of achievement and belief in myself.
 
11.Q What did you do afterwards?
11.A Sat on a bench for 30 minutes to recover, I felt sick!
 
12.Q What were the risks?
12.A This is an inverted roller coaster, worries about an accident etc. Mostly worried I would chicken out and not do the ride.
 
13.Q What did you imagine other people thought of you during and after the event?
13.A Nothing - and that's an important point! After a lifetime of self-consciousness and low self esteem all I saw were other people also enjoying themselves, I didn't think anyone was noticing or laughing at me. And I wouldn't have cared if they had.
 
14.Q How often do you think about the event, and why?
14.A I think about this quite often - a couple of times a week. I have an ongoing battle with self-esteem and it's good to think abut what I felt I achieved.
 
15.Q Some people probably don’t understand how such a thing can thrill you; explain it to them.
15.A It was not about the ride itself, it was about being able to make the choice to go on the ride, feeling like a 'normal' person and 'fitting in' with the rest of the world.
 
16.Q What three changes could have made the experience better, and why?
16.A Only possibly not getting sick afterwards.
 
  FINALLY...
  Is there anything you want to add?
  You can use this information in any way you wish, but please don't use my real name! Good luck with your project.
Anon
 
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what do you find thrilling?