Snakes has been my biggest fear for as long as I can remember.I don't know if it is the texture or the shape or the fear of the bite, all I know is that I am terrified of them.
One of my earliest memories of being scared of snakes took place in The Denver Zoo. My brother Brett and I were riding in the stroller and my mom stopped by the tank of boas. There were two piled up, slithering, and intertwining. I didn't like the look of it at all. They are those brownish-black spotted ,spiraling, serpents of Satan. UGH! Just typing this is making me sick to my stomach and I am having hot flashes. After that I had a recurring dream of my mom being covered by two big boas.
Some other events that added to my fear was when I was playing in the river with my uncles and cousins and a snake had slithered across my foot. And watching the Swiss Family Robinson brothers hack up that python that was choking him with a machete still gets to me.
But there was one event that I will never forget. It was in 1st grade. The "snake man" aka my neighbor at the time, came to La Jara Elementary with his crates full of snakes for a show and tell of sorts. At the beginning of his lecture he said if anyone was to start crying or wanted to leave he would but his boa constrictor around our necks. So of course I was sick about having one around my neck, so I stayed, but sat right by my teacher and held her hand. He proceed to show every snake. I had my eyes closed shut but would peek every once in awhile. He showed us his bite marks from the snakes. Gross! Then he brought out the boa and went around the room hold the snake and making each kid touch it. I was crying and refused to touch it and he literally grabbed my hand and made me touch it. Traumatized for life! I was bawling historically and shaking. My teacher took me out of the room to calm me down.
2. Confinement
I don't like the feeling of being stuck or in tight places. I think it started when my uncle Brandon tide me up in a blanket and left me on the floor of my grandmas until someone untied me. It freaked me out not being able to move or break free. As I grew older the feeling of being stuck in a small town scared me. Never breaking free and seeing the world. This has caused me to always get out and go on adventures. I don't want to settle and be trapped.
3. Failure
I don't like the feeling of failing. In preschool, we were talking about emergencies and knowing our phone numbers. I was the only kid in the class who didn't know my home phone number. I felt like such a failure. Or when it was just recently that I missed passing my national coding exam by 10 points. The feeling of failure is one of those fears that hits you to the core and I take to heart.
