By Shay Crow
An accident that happened a little over four years ago changed a life — and even ended one three times.
“One person in the accident died at the scene three times and they brought him back,” Spanish teacher Mrs. Mary May said.
The man ended up living, but everyone involved in the accident had to go to federal court a couple years later. This included Mrs. May, although she was not at fault in any way in the accident.
This crash caused Mrs. May to take proper driving rules even more seriously and also has made her scared and anxious when she is driving. She now has to do breathing exercises while driving. She has many other fears, though.
A fear may be a simple thing to some people but to others a fear is complicated and they do not know the reason why it exists.
Common fears include heights, dying, spiders and snakes. Researchers at SafeHome reported in 2021 the most common fear is losing those you love. Many people around us are afraid of losing their loved ones and being alone in the world.
Others are even afraid of simple things like stairs.
Freshman Macie Jones has a fear toward stairs due to what happened in her childhood. When Jones was younger she was running up the stairs and fell and now has a dent on her knee because of that incident.
Freshman Hailie Woodring is deathly scared of orcas due to the size of them and stories that she has heard. Freshman Rose Taylor fears lighthouses and haunted houses. Freshman Elisha Huffman fears puppets because they can be manipulated and she finds them creepy.
Freshman Corbin Malchow has a deadly fear of being buried alive. Freshman Emma Anderson is afraid of the unusual combination of clouds and chihuahuas. Freshman Clara Scott has a fear of elevators.
There are many people who are afraid of multiple things.
Mrs. May is afraid of mice, rats, small spaces, and of people hitting her car while she is driving.
Journalism teacher Mr. Tim Cleland is afraid of heights, many animals, fire, drowning, and — he says — even school administrators.
One cannot truly be extremely afraid of school administrators, but they can definitely be afraid when an administrator needs or wants to talk with you. Nobody is really afraid of school administrators because they do not have their career written on their forehead.
Many people around us are afraid of heights. Arash Javanbakht and Linda Saab at the Smithsonian Magazine reported that the fear of heights stems from either genetics or a traumatic experience that one may or may not actually remember. However, Javanbakht and Saab say that a part of your brain has made sure you either avoid heights or are afraid of them in general.
There is a part of our brain that causes such fears called the amygdala that lies in the temporal lobe. The amygdala is responsible for processing stimuli that are fearful and threatening. The amygdala can make you scared of things because of events that happened when you were still young.
Sophomore Grace Flowers’ fear is shared by many students: not being good enough. Sophomore Katilyn Bertram has a fear of being abandoned.
Snakes are a big fear for junior Dylan Manor. Junior Blake Jones has a fear of blood. Junior Lilly Swingley has a fear of being stuck but not being physically restricted.
Junior Madison Weikel and sophomore Jacey Stevens are both afraid of the dark. Stevens also has a fear of clowns, dying alone, and drowning.
Senior Lillian Jones is terrified of the ocean. She fears this because of sharks and many other unthinkable creatures that live in the ocean.
There is a difference between phobias and simply fear. A phobia is stronger and sometimes harder to overcome. The most common phobia is arachnophobia, the fear of spiders.
Some people with arachnophobia do not see a spider and simply think, ‘Oh, there is a spider,’ they may believe that somewhere near them are many spiders.
Mrs. May is afraid of rats and mice, but she also knows she can have control over the relationship just like a person can have control of the relationship between a human and a spider.
“I know I could be in charge of the situation but even the thought of seeing or looking at them gives me a horrible feeling within,” she said.
For sophomore Savauna Roberts it is hard to go into some places due to having automatonophobia, the fear of human-like figures.
Nearly everyone is afraid of something. There is no need to be embarrassed by a fear.
