Have you ever been in a risky situation where you get that feeling; it's that feeling in the deep of your stomach, and your stomach feels like it just dropped? Because I have felt it a few times and every time it has happened to me, it has been a good and bad feeling; both at the same time. Risk is a tricky term to just flat out define; I'm not talking about the definition you pull out of any old dictionary, but to really define what risk is to yourself.
             For me, risk isn't rock climbing, or getting big air on a snowboard, or floating down a level 3 rapid with just a wetsuit and a life jacket on. I feel all of those things are FUN. All three of the things listed I have done, or I do frequently, and in each of those cases none of those things pose a BIG risk to me. Of course there is some risk involved, there is risk involved when you climb a flight of stairs, who knows you might slip, even if you are sure footed. All of the risk's I have used in the sentences above this can be replaced with one word danger.
             To me controlled danger is fun. Launching off of a big jump gets your adrenaline pumping, and for those few seconds you are in the air, it is like nothing you have ever felt. And when you stomp the landing (stomp is a snowboard term for having a perfect [landing]) it makes you feel like you have peaked Everest. All of these things can be defined as risk, and in every use of risk pertaining to these sentences can be replaced with fun, or controlled danger. These are all risks, but FUN, ADRENALINE PUMPING RISKS, so the adrenaline tends to block out all of the bells going off in my head that say "Danger! Risk!" But to me there is one use of risk that cannot be replaced with fun or controlled danger. It is the kind of risk where you put yourself in emotional as well as physical risk.
             If you don't prepare for your final exams you a) risk getting asked not to come back to school b) you will ge...