As soon as my family and I stepped foot into the parking lot, the immediate scent of kettle corn and fried food hits the crisp air. The warmness surrounds everyone like a weighted blanket, the parking lot was crowded with shiny cars. Sounds of muffled voices, all having different conversations filled the atmosphere all around us. In the distance there was a sound of carnival music and everywhere you looked there were ecstatic children prancing around. From the corner of my eye I noticed a big spherical object covered in neon, flashing lights. The bright lights flash neon blue and pink drawing attention from the crowds of people of all different ages, heights and genders. A line going on for what seems like a mile was at the entrance of the ferris wheel. People spoke with excitement as they near closer to the front of the ferris wheel entrance, their feet ached from the wait. We waited for our turn and handed the tall man our tickets. As it was our turn to enter onto the ferris wheel, the seat swayed back and forth like we were on a boat. My family and I sat on the cold, almost wet feeling, metal seats and waited for the ride to start. The sides of the basket seemed to be made of glass or some sort of see through material. There was a cover over us with a light hanging from it. I was sitting on the right of my dad and across from my older brother and mom. 

As the ride began to move, the ferris wheel started to rotate clockwise. Slowly, all of the sound and smell from below started to fade away but not completely. Everything was suddenly more calming, instead of being surrounded by the chaotic crowds of people, we were surrounded by a new atmosphere, a new feeling . All around us consisted of the strong gusts of wind rocking the basket of the ferris wheel back and forth. The wind seemed to have been coming from all directions. The rocking wasn’t aggressive, it was almost relaxing. In a sudden moment, all of my fears of being in the air were replaced with awe. The view was filled with bright lights. The sky was a mix of orange and pink as the sun set in the west. The painting in the sky was a sight to see. The light rays bounced onto the clouds leaving them a nice rosy pink color. The smell of fried food was soon replaced with the scent of fresh air. The speaking coming from my family members was muffled by the wind, making it hard to understand what they were saying. We had to speak loud in order for the others to hear what we were saying. The cabin stopped halfway to the top. Everything below us started to become smaller, making everyone look like an army of tiny ants in a miniature town. We watched all sorts of families make their way around the ride-filled state fair. 

The feeling of a sudden jerk brought me to the realization that we had started to move towards the top again. After what felt like hours, we finally arrived at the top of the ferris wheel. Being that high up in the sky was like being on top of the world. In the background, the city skyline shummered. To the left of us was the carnival. In the distance you could see what seemed to be thousands of people walking around looking for games to waste their money on, but it was all worth it if it meant having a good time. Kids carrying cheap light up wands that would flash different colors followed their parents excited to find a new game to play or a new ride to get on. To the right was the skyline. You could see for miles. The wind was the strongest I had felt all night. The cool breeze had been strong enough to blow my hair everywhere uncontrollably. All I could hear were the muffled sounds of carnival rides and the slight chatter from people below. 

Slowly, we made our way back to the ground. The people that had looked like ants soon began to look life size again. The smell of fried food like funnel cake surrounded us again and the conversations from those around us grew louder. The classical carnival music from nearby games was blasting throughout the fair. Standing next to the ferris wheel, we were the ones who looked like ants now. We made our way through the lines of people to exit the ferris wheel. We walked past different groups of people, friends and families getting ready to experience the ferris wheel we had just been on. Most seemed to be bursting with excitement. As we left, the blinding lights that covered the ferris wheel flashed behind us creating a blue and pink hue on everything around it. What seemed like a ride that lasted for an hour had only lasted about five minutes