Fear. That shiver down your spine that makes your blood run cold, or when your heart
drops to the floor, or even that ominous whisper in the back of your head that makes you drop your intuitional feelings and change what you want. We fear new experiences because we fear the unknown; we fear religion, or lack of, because of the fear of becoming vulnerable to the unseen; we fear love, because we fear the relationship not working out and getting hurt. When I look at my problems, it seems the that they all derive from fear. Whether it be fear of not being good enough, or the fear of taking a risk. If only I could live without fear. Kevyn Aucoin supposes that, “ Fear is the most debilitating emotion in the world, and it can keep you from ever truly knowing yourself and others - its adverse effects can no longer be overlooked or underestimated. Fear breeds hatred, and hatred has the power to destroy everything in its path.” Today, there is so much hatred in the world, and the most prevalent hatred is evident in recent racial attacks. That hatred that is broadcasted into the world’s minds is created by fear of others being different. Fear causes people to act impetuously; there is no mind of consequence because all that matters is what we are feeling now. Bubbling up inside of us to the point where it seems unbearable. Even as children we are taught, almost brainwashed, to fear what our parents fear. Because well, that’s just the way it is. There is fear of the future, anxiety. There is fear of the past, which relates to depression. Several people live their lives everyday in constant fear. Can you imagine a world without any fear? Immediately, I am afraid of danger, an atmosphere without respect, the possibilities of what could go wrong are innumerable. Some fear everything, and yet some can fear nothing. Sure, I feel that my human common sense would get me through life, but is there anything wrong with being overly cautious? Fear is an abstract idea because the word “fear” carries so much connotation. Fear can translate to dread or alarm, panic, or fear can mean agitation. We can live in fear, or we can be in fear. It must be worse to live in fear. We can fear the consequence of actions, or fear the action itself. Both are terrible on their own, but worse
drops to the floor, or even that ominous whisper in the back of your head that makes you drop your intuitional feelings and change what you want. We fear new experiences because we fear the unknown; we fear religion, or lack of, because of the fear of becoming vulnerable to the unseen; we fear love, because we fear the relationship not working out and getting hurt. When I look at my problems, it seems the that they all derive from fear. Whether it be fear of not being good enough, or the fear of taking a risk. If only I could live without fear. Kevyn Aucoin supposes that, “ Fear is the most debilitating emotion in the world, and it can keep you from ever truly knowing yourself and others - its adverse effects can no longer be overlooked or underestimated. Fear breeds hatred, and hatred has the power to destroy everything in its path.” Today, there is so much hatred in the world, and the most prevalent hatred is evident in recent racial attacks. That hatred that is broadcasted into the world’s minds is created by fear of others being different. Fear causes people to act impetuously; there is no mind of consequence because all that matters is what we are feeling now. Bubbling up inside of us to the point where it seems unbearable. Even as children we are taught, almost brainwashed, to fear what our parents fear. Because well, that’s just the way it is. There is fear of the future, anxiety. There is fear of the past, which relates to depression. Several people live their lives everyday in constant fear. Can you imagine a world without any fear? Immediately, I am afraid of danger, an atmosphere without respect, the possibilities of what could go wrong are innumerable. Some fear everything, and yet some can fear nothing. Sure, I feel that my human common sense would get me through life, but is there anything wrong with being overly cautious? Fear is an abstract idea because the word “fear” carries so much connotation. Fear can translate to dread or alarm, panic, or fear can mean agitation. We can live in fear, or we can be in fear. It must be worse to live in fear. We can fear the consequence of actions, or fear the action itself. Both are terrible on their own, but worse
together. If you had to make a list of everything we did not do because of fear, how long would
your list be?
But when we overcome the fear and do what we want, this grand feeling of strength and
positiveness reign. Even if it doesn’t work out, we are so proud of the fact that we tried, as we
should be. Fear can have this great power over our lives, to the point where some may use fear as
a guideline for their actions. I guess it really just depends on the extent we give into fear.
“Fear Quotes.” BrainyQuote , Xplore,
www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_fear.html.
“Fear Quotes.” BrainyQuote , Xplore,
www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_fear.html.
I think the choice of starting off on a personal/individual level to later transition to a more worldly effect was an interesting take on fear. It demonstrates how we all share these dreads and how the amount of control it has is only equal to the amount we give it. The ending is more forward looking which I appreciated because it implies strength/courage that can be gained.
ReplyDelete-Megan K
I absolutely love this. It allows many to understand an emotion that has clouded the human mind for millennia. It helped me understand that fear is only natural and easy to overcome. Thank you for sharing. - Edmund Yim
ReplyDeleteAs someone who really resonates with the topic of fear, I loved every bit of your writing. You brought so many concepts into the light such as racism and even emotional turmoils. Your post really did make me think, especially when you brought up making a list of all our fears. I wholeheartedly agree with you that fear will be prevalent in life but it just depends how we let it control us.
ReplyDeleteI like how you relate it to the audience to get the feelings you want from the beginning, it pulls the reader in fast and tells them to "buckle up". I like this a lot, fear isn't spoken of enough in my opinion; i like the way you throw fear around, this piece reminds me of someone taking something that everyone's afraid to touch and absolutely destroying it and revealing it for what it truly is.
ReplyDelete-Alessandro Seminario
I love how you demonstrate different types of fears and your personal fears. I also like how you asked to imagine a world without fear because it is an interesting concept to think about it.
ReplyDeleteI really like this piece because you talked about an emotion that we all have inside of us as humans. Fear is something that is bounded inside of us. I also liked how you talked about the connotation of fear and the types of fear we can have or face.- Caleb Leyva
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your piece especially because it is relevant to our time now as we are seniors who may fear the ambiguity of our future or fear that our past actions may have altered the directions of our future. I like how throughout the piece you inputted questions and ideas that all of us may have asked or thought of ourselves at least once in our life. Overall, I really enjoy how this is very relatable.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your statements that individuals are prevented from doing things they want due to the fear build up inside of them. We are always present with fear because we are afraid of harm, violent death as Aristotle mentions in the Social Contract Theory. I can also relate to this because I am always afraid of speaking my mind due to the fear of saying something incorrect. - Amy Lau
ReplyDeleteI love that you chose to write about this because it is relatable to EVERYONE who reads it whether you are the person who fears everything or nothing at all. My theory is that we are born with this emotion due to the fact that we are not born with knowledge of everything. Without knowledge of something we caution ourselves around it as a natural instinct to ensure our best chance of survival. Yes we have the people that are curious and throw themselves at something new because that's their way of getting a better understanding but according to Darwin's natural selection the people who are following the laws of Darwinism (making better decisions, up keep themselves, are more cautioned,etc.), their line will live on the longest. All of this to say that fear can hold you back from things but all in all it's in our instincts to protect us.
ReplyDeleteI love this it not only connects with you the minute you read it but you draw the readers in using diction that pulls you right in. this allows you to understand what fear is and how you can overcome it. "if we had to make a list of everything we did not do because of fear how long would that list be." I love this because it ask you to question yourself on how much you are afraid of.
ReplyDeleteI loved this read. The topic is amazing and sheds some light on the truth that people are held back by fear. Also it made me think why I haven't tried new things and you are 100% right it is fear. Great Job!-Jesse James jauregui
ReplyDeleteFrom the first line, "That shiver down your spine that makes your blood run cold..." I already felt the cold, ominous feelings that fear brings to everyone, and as a reader it hooked me into your piece. I appreciated you bringing up how fear is so prevalent in the world and how it "breeds hatred", because it is very evident nowadays that fear lives in all of us. How you defined fear is something we all can relate to, and I very much enjoyed your writing. - Hannah Espejo
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading this piece because it puts fear in perspective. You compare two different types of fear- the one that guides you and the one that controls you. It is very introspective and makes you think.
ReplyDeleteFirst off I loved this piece. I thought the way you described that emotion of fear in the first paragraph was so relatable and universal that it was able to instantly grab onto the reader and hold onto them throughout the whole read. Everything you brought was absolutely true and really made me think. The ending really stuck with me, I loved how you essentially encouraged people to fight on and fight against that emotion of fear. At the end it made me think that there is nothing to truly fear but fear itself. - Brendan Sweeney
ReplyDeleteWoah, that was so accurate and could really connect with it. I liked the association made with fear and anxiety/depression, it was pretty clever and was an interesting point of view. I also couldnt agree more with the rewarding feeling you get when you do something overcoming your fear. You did a good job - Ramsey Perez
ReplyDeleteI really like the emotion you picked for this piece because it really describes the types of fears that many people have like the fear of doing something you never tried before or even the fear of being in danger of something!! Really enjoyed reading this piece!!! I also connect with it and I'm pretty sure others also connect with this as well!!! Great job!! :) - Ian Mendoza
ReplyDeleteYour use of diction and syntax impacted the abstract idea of "fear". I enjoyed reading how throughout the piece you speak of fear in a troublesome tone and eased your way towards the end in a hopeful tone and then brought it back down to a more thoughtful bitter some tone, appear as though a wave of emotion.
ReplyDeleteThis story is so true and relatable because everything mentioned is facts. I believe this story mentioned everything that someone with fear wouldn't because they had the fear of being wrong. This story is outstanding I give major props to you Kassandra.
ReplyDeleteI like the use of the quote and how you brought the perspective of fear from another individual to the piece.
ReplyDeleteI applaud you for describing your own personal fears and not simply generalized fears. It allowed myself, and I'm sure others reading this, to make a personal connection to this piece because not enough people talk about or even realize their own fears but rather bottle them up. - Taylor Clayton
ReplyDelete"because the fear of becoming vulnerable to the unseen" .. this really stood out to me. Why do we fear the unseen? Why do we colonize the seen? ....
ReplyDeleteThis piece covers a lot, in a beautifully intricate way, and I feel it is necessary to have pieces such as this considering the fact that fear is the most prominent feeling right now, or- less a feeling and more a sales pitch to be honest. I feel you captured the essence of fear on a personal level very well, but you could go more in depth as to where this Fear came from. Were we born with it? Was it sold to us? Did we come across it in the Garden of Eden in the form of an apple? What do YOU believe? These are things I think you could explore more in your piece to truly tie it together.
I am always drawn to a dissection of any aspect that makes us human. You chose such an interesting topic that even made me ponder over this idea for a good second. Also, when reading this piece, a quote from a horror writer kept going through my head; it goes: "The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown" - HP Lovecraft.
ReplyDeleteWow, I enjoyed reading your piece! to me it was an eye opener. I liked the way how you used your diction on the word "fear" was very relatable. It made me really think about everything after reading this piece.
ReplyDeleteYour ability to portray the concept of fear is incredible; even while reading the first few lines it's evident that fear is overpowering and sometimes dictates the choices we make in life. I like how you questioned what it would be like to live in a world without fear, and it is a hard concept to imagine as people act based on fear much of the time. You did a great job!
ReplyDelete-Savanna Saikali, Period 3
I feel as though the topic of fear is very interesting itself and I loved the way you addressed/explained it. The way this is written just makes it so easy for the reader to connect with your piece as well make the reader think more deeply about this topic. This was a great piece and I really enjoyed reading this. --Kayla Leonard
ReplyDeleteWow...that was great. I mean, I understand that there are things that start with fearing something then ending up as knowledge or strength, but I never really looked that much into fear itself. This was a fun read, and thank you for expanding my insight on fear in general. - Ryan Lai
ReplyDeleteThe was an amazing piece. The examples you used and emotions tied into the idea so well. As a reader what you wrote is captivating and intriguing. THe two different forms of fear is definitely something to think about.
ReplyDelete-Jenna Jensen
The transition from your personal thoughts of fear to its effects in the world today was really interesting; it gave me another perspective on how fear and hate correlate. Your point on fear of the future being anxiety and fear of the past being depression was really insightful. I had never thought of it like that. Overall, your piece's relatability was definitely home-hitting. I hope one day to overcome my fears, though I will always wonder if I have the willpower to persevere through my innate phobias. - Kenneth Chen
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this piece because it is so relevant in society today, as you stated in your writing. I agree with your idea of how overcoming fear results to a feeling of power, whether it be bad or good. You described many peoples lives with thjis piece, as fear can really persuade peoples actions and their lives
ReplyDeleteThis was beautiful. You really dug deep into the concept of fear and explained it very well. I love the way you started the piece by just using one word, "fear" to really rail the reader into reading your piece. I loved how you described different forms of fear and the effect it has on people while also providing a solution to that fear that people have in the end when saying that even if we fear, we should try to overcome that fear and if it's still not overcome, then, at least we know that we tried. The entire time I read this, I was fully engaged because you connected to me through explaining a universal emotion that we all have, fear. Overall, this was such a beautiful piece and it was very well written. Well done! :)
ReplyDelete-Lynelle Elhajjmoussa
Not only do you analyze what fear is in today's society but you also relate it to yourself which adds another level of depth to the word. As every person reads this piece, they can see themselves within your abstract idea. The addition of the quote is a nice touch because it elaborates on your point that fear is ever growing and that fear resides within us all. A small criticism would be that I the piece was broken off into two paragraphs. Its more appealing to the eye and its less discouraging two see two smaller paragraphs than one giant paragraph.
ReplyDeleteTo start off your story with a personal narrative to expand on a global affect really emphasizes the effects fear can have. As you said about how fear can drive someones actions, that really resonated with me as almost everything I do, I always evaluate what could go wrong. Later on though, you write how fear can be overcome which gave me great motivation. Great writing and amazing storytelling!
ReplyDelete-Behrouz Khokhar
This is just a glamorous piece of writing! This is the kind of motivation we all need. I love the fact that you included the outcome of facing fear is. Reminding the audience that there will always be some positiveness at the end of that fear we try to avoid everyday! Truly Inspirational. -Juan Zermeno
ReplyDeleteI loved how you used example that many including myself can relate, I also liked the fact that you asked the question of how long our lists would be it really got me thinking. The way you showed how fear can give you that extra push or just hold you back in total really states that fear has a good and bad meaning to it.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI genuinely loved this piece. I felt like i was able to sympathize with the speaker. Right from the beginning i was able to understand the emotion of fear because the list felt so personal. Most of the fears mentioned in the piece were mine, some of which i still struggle with today. I know as a senior and as seniors we fear for the future because nobody knows tomorrow, i liked that you mentioned this in the piece, because it is one of which is still my greatest fear. I loved how the piece was very relatable and i also liked that you talked about the different connotations of fear. After reading this piece it made me realize that i can overcome any of my fears.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this piece. The beginning line immediately caught my attention.I personally related to this piece as I deal with various types of dear as illustrated in this piece. It beautifully illustrated how fear holds us back and is a weight on our society. I could not stop reading this piece it was very well written and inspiring.
ReplyDeleteThis is such a relatable piece of a feeling that we all have but seem to hide and suppress.You kept a strong grip on the reader's attention to reveal a uplifting and universal truth that is so empowering. Well done. -Taren Thomas
ReplyDeleteThe first two sentences really drew me in because of the detailed imagery of fear since, I'm sure, everyone can relate to. Then the way you seamlessly paralleled fear to hatred was a genius move which I took great notice of. However, my favorite part was when you asked "...how long would your list be?" because I really had to just sit for a moment and think about how right you were and that was a brilliant choice you made because I felt very immersed and included in your overall idea. Great job!
ReplyDeleteThe diction in this piece was definitely noticeable. Your connections of fear and religion was very interesting as well. We can both agree that fear is definitely a prominent driving force within this corrupt world and despite all its irregularities, a message of hope can always mold a new haven. Good job.
ReplyDeleteThe way you describe fear in your writing is incredibly accessible to just about everyone who reads this. However my favorite things about this writing is how you tackle fear at the end of your writing. It leaves me with almost a hopeful feeling, as if you're telling me to continue to fight on, even if things are looking a little bleak. The only thing I would really suggest is to have smoother segways into different topics as sometimes they felt a bit jarring but otherwise, wonderful job! -Oscar Bustamante
ReplyDeleteThe fact that fear plays such a big role in our lives is so true. The things it makes us do and feel are so well embodied in this piece. As such, I enjoyed your writing as I couldn't better have translated a complex emotion such as fear into words.
ReplyDeleteI love this pieces because it's very true. Fear is everywhere. We all fear something but it's the choice we make to let it control us or not. What a great piece of work, amazing job Kassandra!
ReplyDelete"If you had to make a list of everything we did not do because of fear, how long would your list be?".
ReplyDeleteWhat a question. So self-reflective. It really make you think. You could just drop the mic right there. I really liked how you made your analysis personal, not only to yourself, but to the reader. Rather than simply stating what "fear" is, you expressed what it can be, and how it affects us, for better or for worse. - Shane Njoloma
your explanation of fear is so accurate in many different aspects of life. how fear dictates what we do and not do in our lifetime and how it shapes us to be the person that we are today. its just a great piece overall.
ReplyDeleteReading this was great.You did a great job and good job on letting everything out .Love it
ReplyDelete-jazlyn S