Everybody has a fear. Whether it’s big or small, common or uniquely personal, there’s always one thing that will cause shivers and sweaty palms. For Wilsonville senior Campbell Lawler, snakes are what makes her heart race in fear. 

“One of the fears that I have is snakes because I don’t like the feel of them slithering around. I don’t like the idea that they’re anywhere, and they sneak up on you.”

She continued, adding the history of her fear: “I don’t know if there’s a certain time my fear developed. Just seeing them outside at my house, I didn’t like seeing them.”

Abbie Memmott relates to the uneasy feeling of having a creepy creature linger around: “I have a fear of spiders. I don’t like that they have eight legs and lurk in the corners of my room.”

While both fears are common and can be seen every day, that doesn’t prevent the fear that can be brought on by them. So far, the fears students have are snakes and spiders. Is there another creature out there that frequently disrupts the peace and happiness in students’ hearts?

“I’m afraid of sharks because they just have this big presence that is really scary to me, and all their teeth are really scary,” states Olivia Lyons, “I’ve always had this fear, but recently when I went on my spring break trip I was like ‘I can’t do that.’”

Amazingly and somewhat creepily, all of these fears have a common factor. They all start with the letter S. One might wonder if this is just a coincidence or do most scary things start with the letter S, including the word scary for example. 

Moving on, while fears are common in everybody, it is also just as common to grow out and overcome a fear. Do these students plan on overcoming their fears?

Olivia Lyons shares her perspective, “I don’t think I’ll overcome this fear because every time I’m in the ocean I’ll think about sharks, so, I don’t think so.”

In contrast, Campbell Lawler isn’t afraid of being scared of her fear: “I don’t think I’m terrified of them, I’m just a little bit scared. I mean I don’t have a phobia or anything so I don’t mind being a little afraid of snakes. I think it might be for the best.” 

Fears are common and different for everyone. Just as most of them start with the letter S, most people struggle and overcome fears within their lifetime. As for Wilsonville students, the best thing for now is to just keep swimming (in non-shark-infested waters) and stay brave.