Irrational Fear #1: Squirrels

We all have fears. Some of them are legitimate, like getting shot or getting in a car accident. However, a lot of fears are irrational. We all have irrational fears whether we want to admit it or not. My irrational fear is the fear of getting attacked by a squirrel.

I am not sure when this fear of mine started. I think the premiere of “The Even Steven’s Movie” triggered it. This was a Disney Channel Movie that was based on their hit series: “Even Steven.” Here’s the gist: Family vacation to Hawaii gone wrong. To top it off: an evil SQUIRREL chases one of the family members off a cliff!!!!! For me, that scene made ALL squirrels appear to be evil. From that point on, I have had a fear of squirrels that has stuck with me.

Not many people find squirrels to be “scary.” Most people think they are cute and fuzzy. NOT ME. They run fast. They climb up trees in 2.0 seconds. They have little teeth that are sharp. They have claws and could rip your leg off. They are evil little creatures.

My freshman year I was cast in the Children’s Theater as a squirrel. My first thought was, “Is this a joke?! How am I going to do that?!” My director told me to observe squirrels in order for me to learn how to act like them. This was a challenge for me every time I had to get close to them. I was always afraid that they were going to pounce on me and kill me! But somehow, I overcame my fear for a short amount of time and I was a great squirrel! To this day, I still give my director a hard time because he knew about my irrational fear. His response, “I knew you were afraid of them, and I wanted to help you get over that!” Yeah right! It didn’t work. My fear still exists.

Ninety percent of you will think that I am absolutely crazy to think all of this, but it is honestly a fear. Squirrels are EVERYWHERE. There is no escaping them, no matter where you go. There are SO MANY OF THEM. My neighborhood has many of them, and there are many squirrels around school. It is hard for me to constantly be around them but I know that I have to suck up my fear.  The likelihood of me being attacked by a squirrel is slim to none-but it could still happen. Many people have these crazy fears; mine just happens to be about squirrels.