Day Two

Describe three legitimate fears you have and how they became fears:

I cannot pinpoint an exact time that I knew I was afraid of snakes, but as far back as I can remember, I have always been afraid of them. The way they move, the way they feel, it was never something I could handle. I can remember having to walk through the reptile house at the local zoo with my hands shielding my eyes because if I was not careful, I would run into a cage with one near the glass. Actually, I still do this even when I visit the zoo now. I suppose a dream that I have remembered from my childhood spurned this fear of this creature that I try to steer clear of. I once had a dream that a large group of giant snakes was coming to my house to take my entire family away, however, it ended up being me they took because my family did not realize that the door was locked and could not hear me pounding on the door wanting to be let back into the house. Snakes=no good!

I believe my fear of rejection is a legitimate one. Since I am still new to this, I do not feel comfortable laying out exactly why this is so, but rest assured, there are a few relationships that taught me how hurtful and scary it can be to put myself out there. And, it is more than just talking about relationships in a romantic sense. There are many times that paranoia can take over. While I am an extroverted person, I sometimes fear that an initial meeting will leave another person with me coming up short in his or her eyes.

It seems silly, but sometimes I am still afraid of the dark. Our house has lots of shadowy, dark places. It creaks and makes settling sounds frequently. My mind makes crazy, irrational jumps to what could be around the next corner or just down the dark hallway. It may not be "legitimate," but it for sure is something that frightens me at times.