Brianna’s Fear of Sunglasses:
Ever since I was little, I’ve always felt very uneasy around people wearing sunglasses. Some could call it a fear, but all I know is that when I have no idea what your eyes are doing or where you’re looking it gives me the heebie jeebies. I once had a professor that loved wearing sunglasses during class for some reason, and I just stopped going to that class. I still passed though. Maybe because I didn’t need sunglasses to do the work.
Charlee’s Fear of Escalators:
Sanding at the top of an escalator, my hands start sweating and my heart races. I have to take a deep breath to take my first step onto the moving stairs. Then I am on, gripping to the railing like my life depends on it (it does).
For as long as I can remember, I have been scared of going down escalators. Going up is fine; it is hard to fall up. Although, I have had the misfortune of that as well. Going down is where you can trip over the side, get a shoelace stuck or get sucked into the void of nothingness under the stairs.
When I was about seven, my mom and I were at the mall in my hometown. There was an escalator that we had to go down, just one level. Fear struck, and I stood at the top for what felt like hours, while my mom had to coax me down.
Do not get me started on going down with a rolling suitcase that you’re dragging behind you. That is a death trap waiting to happen.
Maybe I am scared of my clumsiness getting the best of me, but this irrational fear consumes me in both shopping malls and airports.
The world would be a better place if we installed slides instead of descending escalators.
Julia’s Very Specific Fear:
My worst fear is getting a teeny tiny splinter stuck under my finger nail that I can’t get out and it is painful every time I type or use a pencil.
Michaela’s Fear of Bugs:
Since I was a kid, bugs, insects, and crawly things in general have always freaked me out. It doesn’t matter if it’s spiders, grasshoppers or butterflies, I simply do not like being around bugs.
Justin’s Fear of Death:
My worst fear is death. Plain and simple. It wouldn’t matter how, when or where, dying would totally suck. I don’t even find tangible things frightening but the problem we all inevitably face is the one that I have the most trouble coming to terms with.
Becca’s Fear of Elevators:
I am only scared of two things, needles and elevators. While the story of how I acquired the fear of needles is quite mundane, a small child receiving their vaccinations at the hands of army base doctors, the reasoning for my fear of elevators is so much more…stupid.
I watched a lot of Mythbusters as a child, watching them blow up things was my jam! But after watching season 2, episode 9 “Elevator of Death/Levitation Machine” everything changed. My beloved Mythbusters tested to see if jumping at the last second while in a falling elevator before it hit the bottom could save your life. Spoiler, it was indeed a myth.
Ever since then, I have been petrified of elevators. It is so extreme that even when I have classes on the third floor of Escalante, I will take the stairs to avoid the levitating death traps.
Fear of Holding Small Animals:
I was viciously attacked by a hamster named Teddy when I was eight years old. I cradled him, filled with jubilation until the deceitful rodent sank his teeth into the meat of my palm. And the hamster-owner tried to blame ME. Because the green marker smudges on my hands were “triggering”.
Alejandro’s Very Specific Fear, Also Spiders:
I have a fear of walking into a class when a big project is due and I had no idea, so I was stared down by the entire class for missing a huge deadline (this may or may not be based on a true story). Spiders are scary too, I guess.
Bonnie’s Fear of Isolation:
They say it takes a village, and community is how people survive and thrive. But, what if you’re stranded alone, or imprisoned in solitude? Autophobia is the fear of being alone, whether in the form of forced solitary confinement or being the last person on earth, which is one of my biggest fears.
Connection with people in school, work and local communities is, to me, a fundamental human need. Humans are incredibly social creatures, as evidenced by the many cultures and civilizations that we have built over centuries of human history. While many appreciate alone time, it is connection with others, especially when working towards similar goals, that is one of life’s most precious gifts.
For shorter periods of time, being alone can be healthy and promote mental and emotional growth, however, for extended periods of time the prospect can quickly take a dark turn. When one has no company, not even that of a stranger, sanity seems to slip away quickly. Films such as “Cast Away” starring Tom Hanks and “Gravity” starring Sandra Bullock are heightened representations of these fears, set on a deserted island and in outer space, respectively.
The ways in which both lead actors portray the toll that is experienced from intense isolation is haunting, and prompts the viewer to wonder what traumatic effect a similar experience could cause for them. Being isolated is horrifying!
