We all know the symptoms of fear: raising heartbeat, sweating hands, wide-opened eyes and probably a cry that comes out of our mouths before we even realize it. It is surprising how many things humans can be afraid of: darkness, wild animals, lack of ventilation, chaos, numbers, clocks, dentists, work, needles, water, babies, clowns, lightning, the color purple and a thousand other things. But what is it,that frightens young students the most and why?
“I am terrified of frogs, worms, bugs, and spiders. I know it’s not physically possible for them to jump on me, but I’m still afraid of it,” said Dakota Cottrell, junior, who used to have a frog when she was younger, but then it started jumping on the glass and her fear grew from day to day. Spiders and bugs started bothering her after she watched a movie in which the creatures took over a human body and start eating it. Jessica Brown, sophomore, agrees with her: “The eyes and legs are the worst about the spiders!”
Movies are apparently one of the things that influences young students a lot. However, horror stories and books cause the fears of young girls and boys. Junior Lacie Eastman is afraid of reaching under the bed because of the horror story she heard once and senior Grace Hampton is scared of chickens since she read a book in elementary school in which “the main character was afraid that the roosters and chickens would peck her head off.”
Another reason for fears are childhood and youth experiences. Kayleen Baker, junior, gives the perfect example. When she was about 8 years old, her parents took her to a “dark, scary aquarium” and since that day she was afraid of fish. “Maybe,” she adds, “it was also because my brother threw a dead fish at me once.”
Basically, everyone knows that humans are stronger than little frogs, bugs and fish. It is a fact, that more people die in their car than in a plane accident. And (hopefully) dolls and clowns are not possessed by demons. It is just the thought of what could happen, that makes us feel bad. The next time you run away screaming from a little spider, you might want to keep that in mind. Fears are just thoughts that grow in our own mind with a lot of fantasy – and maybe the monster under the bed just wants to be your friend!