“Fear is not real. The only place that fear can exist is in our thoughts of the future. It is a product of our imagination, causing us to fear things that do not at present and may not ever exist. That is near insanity. Do not misunderstand me danger is very real but fear is a choice.”

I recently learned of my fear of heights the hard way. A good friend of mine encouraged me to climb the Goliath wall with him. About halfway up I looked down, and fear instantly overtook me. Luckily, my friend was supportive and encouraged me the rest of the way. I ended up enjoying the climb and climbed the wall again the following week.

I’m still afraid of heights, but I learned hands on that fears can be overcome.

What fears do the people around us have? Last week I set out on a quest to find out what some of people’s biggest fears are.

Freshman Connor Ford is afraid of being burned to death because of the intense pain, and Freshman Viki Tremblay could never live without her parents. Do we allow our fears to get the best of us?

Mr. Crawford is scared of snakes and of heights because he’s a sissy (his words not mine), and Senior Andrea Sanchez is scared of spiders. Are your fears holding you back from enjoying all life has to offer?

Senior Ian Santore is scared of angler fish, and Freshman JJ Moon is afraid of falling without a parachute. Senior Nena Madrigal can’t stand feet, and Senior Devin Vaudreuil and I afraid to run out of oxygen or get trapped while cave diving (cave divers have been found with their fingers clawed down to bare bone in efforts to escape).

No matter your fear, it can be overcome; don’t allow anything to hold you back from success.