There are several stories, both fictional and non-fictional ones, that highlight "fear" as one of the things that characterises us as humans. The capability of being scared of something or someone is always highlighted as an ideal element that defines us.
Even the folks who we see as fearless have things they are scared of and the weight of what we fear as humans vary. Some people are scared of ants. Some are scared of getting trapped in an elevator. Some are scared of drowning. Others are scared of being in dark places. When you casually take a look at the list of phobias people have, you will even come across ones that will make you laugh hysterically.
I know someone who's scared of peanuts. She doesn't even like to see it anywhere. Imagine how she will react when she spots it in a snack. When I first knew her, I thought she was making it up. Like, why are you scared of a harmless peanut? Haha. I remember asking that out of my naivety.
Right now, even when I'm snacking with her, I'm always the first to cross-check the menu and be sure that anything that has a slight resemblance to peanut isn't on the list.
Of course, I also have things that I'm scared of. Sit tight as I highlight a few of those things;
1. Fear of Being Broke.
I just did a quick research and noticed that this is classified as Peniaphobia, the fear of having no money. It surprisingly has a cool and fancy name even though there's nothing fancy about having to deal with this sort of phobia. It gets even worse when you are someone like myself who doesn't shy away from taking on responsibilities.
I'm not sure when this became a phobia for me. I know that I spent most part of my transition from childhood to teenage life and now to adulthood without having a lot of financial stability. The financial position of my family wasn't the type that allowed any of us to mess around with money. We didn't even have enough to take care of things. So, when I lived in a boarding school during my high school years, I had a lot of financial struggles.
That was also the case when I was at University. I struggled financially and this is even though my parents were making their best effort to support me. I will always be grateful for that support. The moment I was ending my University education, I started to work towards becoming more financially independent and I'm so grateful to God about the outcome of that decision.
Right now, even when I know I will be spending a whole day indoors, I still try my best to have some cash at hand, some money in the bank, and some emergency funds stored in crypto. I know that even when I don't need money, I may get a call for financial support from family and I always like to be able to give that support within a few minutes of getting off the call.
2. Fear of Being a Debtor.
Seems like all my phobias are related to finance. Haha. I couldn't find a fancy name for this particular one. I guess there's really nothing fancy about being indebted to someone else or to an organization. In case you don't know, some people are already caught in the endless cycle of being a Debtor. And, a lot of those people are still searching for some other person, lending institution, or a loan app that will lend them money.
That just can't be me. Being in the debt book of anyone gives me the peeves and I've been trying my best to not be indebted to anyone. That has been my lifestyle since years ago and I'm glad that I've been debt-free for as long as I can remember.
I know that some catastrophic situations can force people to face their fears and do things they never want to do. However, these fears I have are the ones I would never want to face. I don't want to imagine myself living as a brokie and I also don't want to be in a situation where I would depend on acquiring debt to do anything.
Thanks For Not Missing Any Full-stop or Comma.
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This is my entry to today's prompt on #mayinleo monthly prompt. Feel free to check out this announceement post and explore their prompt.