If you would have asked me 10 years ago what I’m the most afraid of I would’ve said, “becoming a paraplegic.” But, now my family knows what to do if that happens so it’s no longer a fear.

I think the next scariest thing would be losing a limb. I mean, it’s something that scares me, the idea of it happening, but honestly it doesn’t scare me enough never to do this, this, or this again.

I’m scared of crocodiles, sure, and sharks, no doubt, but I don’t go prancing around safaris and sketchy looking lakes or jumping off fisherman’s boats so they’re not really prevalent fears.

Next I browse through the categories of losing loved ones, getting into a car accident, contracting cancer but if I worried about how “scared” I was about these all the time I’d turn into What About Bob? and we all know how loony that guy is.

Maybe I’m just not a big scaredy-pants. I’m reminded of that quote “Nothing to fear, but fear itself.” Jumping off a 30 ft cliff is scary as pants but I still do it because the feeling of being scared is what’s so amazing. I love the feeling you get in the pit of your stomach when you’re plummeting down a roller coaster, free falling out of an airplane, or even sailing just above the ground in a Cessna. It’s all about the thrill and that thrill is amazing.

I’m scared of the dark and ghosts and mythical men dressed in black sneaking into the bathroom while I’m soaping my face and can’t keep watch but I know that it’s all in my mind. It can’t hold me back. I can’t let it. My face would be awfully dirty otherwise.

I go through each day taking it step by step. Looking both ways before I cross the street, washing my hands after being in a public place, obeying the speed limit, wearing a life jacket, and staying behind the red tape when I know it’s for the best. But I don’t let it worry me. I don’t let it hold me back. I don’t let it stop me from living.