Typical London weather. The rain has been relentless1） since the day I arrived. Nevertheless， the view is still phenomenal2）. Big Ben stands majestically. A red double-decker bus provides a pop of color against the grey sky. You can see the entire city； you can see everything for miles and miles.

I didn't want to go on the London Eye； I've been scared of heights for as long as I can remember. Now I am glad I did； the view alone is well worth facing my fears. Being so high up makes me feel important， all-powerful. Yet it also makes me feel so minuscule3）， so inconsequential4） in the grand scheme of things5）. As we start heading back down on the other side， two realizations strike me at once. One， my fear of heights is at least temporarily gone. And two， I want to go back up again.

I allow myself to savor6） the moment a little while longer. To enjoy the experience of being somewhere entirely new. I try not to think about the other fears in the back of my head7）， taunting8） me to face them. I am nervous about learning photography， which is a bit ironic considering I'm in London because of a photography program. The fear had sunk its teeth into9） my consciousness the first day when I realized photography was a lot harder than I had originally thought， and that everyone else was way ahead in terms of experience. And then there was that other fear， the one that formed when I was packing and realized I knew nothing about the people I was traveling with. I was going to a city I barely remembered with strangers. Suddenly， everything that could go right just vanished， replaced with the insistent pounding of everything I was sure was going to go wrong. These two fears were the most persistent， like my fear of heights， in that they prevented me from experiences I could have otherwise enjoyed. And they seemed insurmountable10）， I told myself I couldn't face them and I did not want to. I was tempted to just give up and do what I used to do with my fear of heights： avoid situations where I had to confront it.

I take out my camera， adjust the shutter11） speed and the aperture12）， and start shooting pictures. The photography workshop13） is a 12-day program for high school students. Before the trip， I didn't know a lot about photography. I applied because the program was intended for all skill levels. Despite this， on my first day I felt like I was drowning. Drowning in a sea of technical terms， blurry14） and overexposed15） pictures， cryptic16） buttons on my camera and the London rain， which never seemed to stop.

Over the course of the trip， one of my fears would solve itself. I got to know the other people in the program easily. In just a few days， I felt like I had known everyone forever. Seven-hour plane rides， shared jet lag17） and living in the same dorms at the University of London will do that to people. They got to know everything about me， from my love of Starbucks （it's even better in England）， to how long it takes me to wake up in the morning （quite a while）. We bonded over painting our nails in the rooms at night， finding our \"real\" laughs， and getting lost on the tube （London's Underground） for a scary five minutes.

My fear of learning photography was conquered through experience. As the days went on， my photography vastly improved. While I still wasn't as good as many of my friends， I liked the pictures I took， and I grew to love the many nuances18） of photography. One of the nice things about having talented friends is that they help you improve your pictures.

In London I was put into situations where I had no choice but to dive headfirst into what I was most worried about. But instead of my trip being a gigantic disaster， I had three amazing experiences. I faced my fear of heights， and got to see a unique perspective of London from 443 feet in the air. I learned how to use a DSLR19） camera， and found a new hobby in photography. I made 27 friends who live around the world， everywhere from Japan to Bermuda. None of this would have happened if I hadn't taken a risk， and gone to London despite my fears. And the experience of going there， and succeeding， has given me the confidence to take future risks， even though I know they may not work out. Now， I am willing to try them just because of the possibility that they will.

典型的倫敦天氣。自我抵達之日起，雨水就連綿不絕。然而，景色依舊美麗非凡：大本鐘巍然屹立，一輛紅色的雙層巴士為灰色的天空平添了一抹色彩。你可以俯瞰整座城市，將綿延數(shù)英里的景觀盡收眼底。

我本來不想乘坐倫敦眼的，從記事時起，我就一直恐高。此刻，我很高興自己登上了倫敦眼，單是眼前的景觀就非常值得我去直面自己的恐懼。身處這樣的高度讓我覺得自己至關(guān)重要，無比強大。不過，在這宏偉的天地萬物格局中，我又覺得自己是那么渺小，那么微不足道。當我們開始從另一邊朝地面下行的時候，我立刻認識到了兩個事實：一是我的恐高癥至少暫時消失了，二是我想再次回到高處。

我讓自己多品味了一小會兒這一刻，去享受那種身處全新環(huán)境的體驗。我努力不去考慮自己內(nèi)心深處的其他那些恐懼，它們嘲弄著我，讓我去面對。我對學習攝影感到緊張，鑒于我正是因為一個攝影項目才身處倫敦，這倒真有幾分諷刺意味。從我意識到攝影遠比我最初想象的要難得多，意識到其他人在經(jīng)驗上都遠勝于我的第一天起，那種恐懼就一直深深嚙噬著我的意識。接下來，我又有了另外一種恐懼，從我打包行李時意識到自己對同游的人一無所知的那一刻起，這種恐懼就開始存在了。我將和一群素不相識的人前往一座城市，而我對那里幾乎毫無印象。突然間，每件原本可以正常進行的事情就都消失不見了，取而代之的是那些我確定會出問題的事情對我的持續(xù)重擊。這兩種恐懼是最揮之不去的，就像我對高處的恐懼一樣，因為它們讓我無法去體驗?zāi)切┪冶驹撓硎艿慕?jīng)歷。而且它們看起來似乎難以克服，我告訴自己我無法面對它們，也不想面對它們。我忍不住想要干脆放棄，并像以往應(yīng)對恐高癥一樣行事：逃避那些我不得不面對的情況。

我拿出自己的相機，調(diào)整了快門速度和光圈，開始拍照。這個攝影研討會是一個面向高中生的項目，為期12天。踏上旅途之前，我對攝影了解的并不多。我申請參加這個項目是因為它面向各類攝影水平的學生。盡管如此，第一天我還是感覺自己被淹沒了，淹沒在技術(shù)術(shù)語的海洋中，淹沒在模糊和曝光過度的照片中，淹沒在我相機上晦澀難懂的按鈕中以及倫敦那似乎從不停歇的雨中。

在旅行的過程中，我的其中一種恐懼自行消失了。我輕而易舉就認識了參加此項目的其他成員。在僅僅幾天的時間里，我感覺自己好像已經(jīng)認識大家很久了。我們坐了七個小時的飛機，共同感受了時差，而且住在倫敦大學相同的宿舍里，這讓其他成員也了解了我。他們對我無所不知，從我對星巴克的喜愛（英國的星巴克更勝一籌），到我早晨需要多久才能起床（相當長的一段時間）。我們晚上在房間涂指甲油，找到了自己“發(fā)自內(nèi)心的”歡笑，還在乘地鐵（倫敦的地下鐵道）時迷了五分鐘的路，弄得驚慌失措，這些經(jīng)歷讓我們建立起特別的感情。

通過體驗，我克服了自己對學習攝影的恐懼。隨著日子一天天流逝，我的攝影技術(shù)大大提高。雖然我拍得仍不及我的許多朋友那么好，但我喜歡自己拍攝的照片，也逐漸開始愛上攝影的諸多精妙之處。擁有才華出眾的朋友的好處之一就是他們能幫你提高攝影水平。

在倫敦，我被迫置身于某些情境，我在其中別無選擇，只能一頭扎進自己最擔憂的事情中。不過，我的旅途并沒有變成一場巨大的災(zāi)難，相反，我擁有了三種奇妙的經(jīng)歷。我直面自己的恐高癥，得以從443英尺的高空俯瞰倫敦的獨特景色。我學會了如何使用數(shù)碼單反相機，并在攝影中找到了自己的新愛好。我結(jié)交了27位朋友，他們生活在從日本到百慕大群島的世界各地。假如我沒有冒險，沒有不顧恐懼地前往倫敦，這一切就都不會發(fā)生。而且，此次前往倫敦并獲得成功的經(jīng)歷已經(jīng)給了我信心去接受未來的冒險，盡管我知道它們可能未必會成功?，F(xiàn)在，我樂于嘗試冒險，只因它們具備成功的可能。