Fear is an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that something or someone is dangerous. For example, imagine walking on a nice, sunny day, then out of nowhere, a giant snake comes out and bites your leg. As a result, you hate snakes, and they are now your biggest nightmare.

Many of us have something that we are afraid of. For some, it is other creatures. Junior Cindy Calidonio fears sharks, “because once on vacation I saw a man bleeding after a shark had bit him.” For freshman Basil Morales, it’s spiders “because they are quiet and could pop out of nowhere and attack you.”

For others, it is a fear of machines. Junior Yvette Smith fears larger cargo trucks because “one time me and family were on a road trip and a large truck crashed into us, and ever since big trucks have been my fear.” Junior Catherine Cabrera fears getting burned by a flat iron because “I’ve gotten burnt by it so many times.”

Many fears are common ones shared by others. Cindy Calidonio said that her sister has the same fear of sharks. Senior Jacob Martinez said that he and his friend Mario both fear bats because “they are so creepy.”

Junior Ashley Hernandez said, “Me and my mom are both afraid of pitbulls because once we saw a group of pitbulls fighting and it was bloody.”

At some point in our lives, we might choose to overcome our fears by just facing them. For example, sophomore Felix Herrera said, “I’m terrified of snakes, so one day my uncle took me to the zoo where I got really close and learned more about snakes.”

Senior Henry Lopez told how when he was a little child who always feared the dark until one day his mom forced him to sleep in the dark, and ever since that day, he no longer fears the dark.

Freshman Stephanie Gonzales said that she overcame her fears of cats. “One day I went to my best friend’s house, and her mom owns 2 cats so I slightly tapped and petted them and saw that it wasn’t that bad,” she said.

You might want to overcome your fear, but sometimes there is no going back from it. Freshman Matthew Valdes said, “I have always been afraid of snakes, and one time I tried petting a snake, but I couldn’t do it. I was shaking so much I even started sweating.”

Did You Know?

*Fear is healthy.

*The more scared you feel, the scarier your fear will seem.

*Fears are not caused by one, big, scary event.

*Fear comes from your instinct.

*Ophiophobia is the fear of snakes.

Source: Psychologytoday.com