13-Year-Old Writer Henry J. Is Taking Chances

Oxford Dictionary defines risk as this: “Putting something up for the possibility of danger, loss, or peril.”

What does this mean to me? Have I done or said risky things, opinions, and the like? Well, Yes. That’s what risk is. Here, I will be reviewing the many “risky” things I have said or done in my lifetime and looking back on the wild stuff I've done before.

The first instance I can think of is when my friend and I were messing around on Omegle. Now, if you don’t know what Omegle was, it was simply a video chat platform where you can meet and talk with strangers. Naturally, the internet is full of disgusting scumbags, so Omegle was a big hunting ground for these sickos.

My friend Elliott and I found what appeared to be a college student, presumably 20. We decided to take a risk and tell this man we were a 45-year-old single mother. Please remember that we were young, we were stupid, and it was a stupid idea. We did this simply to prank people. When the man found out we were “female,” he promptly asked for inappropriate photos. Elliott and I were both left absolutely shocked but also absolutely laughing our eyes out. We both left Omegle, and I have never interacted with that website again. Besides, it was my friend’s idea.

The second time I ever took a risk was when I went to this resort in Phoenix called Great Wolf Lodge. It was very much marketed toward families and was not the nicest place. (I found like five cheese stick wrappers in the crevices of my bed. Gross.) One day, when I was chilling at the built-in waterpark at the hotel, I decided to go on this water slide called “The Wolf Tail.” It was one of those slides where you crossed your legs and arms and were dropped down a hatch into the slide. I was 11 when I went on this slide. I had no clue what it was or how it went, but it looked fun. So I waited for about an hour in the queue just walking up steps to the slide. (The height of the slide alone should’ve warned me, but my ignorant 11-year-old brain didn’t understand that.) I thought this slide was going to curve, but no. This slide was at a complete 90-degree angle.

When I went in, I stood up against the little drop compartment wall and was launched down. My face was completely submerged, and I even believe I went airborne for a moment off the wall. I shot around in a few curves until I reached the bottom.

Boy, if you guys had seen my face when I got out… I walked over to my mom, my face stricken with the thousand-mile stare, looking like I had just returned from war. I asked my mother if I could return to our room, and I never went to that water park after that.

Of course, I still risk things today. One time I forgot to study for a math test. I was tired and I forgot to study, so I risked it and skipped the studying and decided to wing the test the next day. You can guess how it went for me. That’s what defined risk to me, to be honest.

So, I'll answer the question I asked at the beginning: What is the risk? Is it when you go all in at a casino blackjack table? Is it when you decide to risk wearing mismatched socks in public, hoping nobody would notice? Is it telling somebody a risky-sounding joke that may offend them? Or is it risking getting a severe stomach illness by eating street food while in a foreign country?

Risk to me is simply just confronting a fear in the face, and hoping to get the best outcome. Sometimes, you could make a memory or two like I did, but they don’t have to be the most pleasant memories either.

This was Henry, I hope you guys enjoyed the article. Ciao.