I believe being afraid of something is part of what makes us human beings. As adverse as fear has been tagged to be, it aids to life and living in general, in the sense that it tends to make us much more thoughtful, cautious and also grateful for the things we have. And the life we're living.
A life where people have nothing to be afraid of and just given the privilege to live as carefree and equally careless as they so wish does not promote the importance and value of life. But the presence of a fear balances things up.
Everyone is afraid of something no matter how small or silly the substance of fear happens to be and you can't tell me otherwise. As long as a certain thing gives you a scare, makes you nervous, sweaty, nauseous or even on the verge of tears, then it's nothing but a fear.
And I've come to know that, being afraid of something is not a cause to be demure about or ashamed of.
Maybe my thumbnail gave it away or maybe not but I'm afraid of public speaking and thanks to the prompt, I got to know there's a scientific name for it, Glossophobia.
There's something about having to stand on stage with or without a microphone, right infront of different age groups from children to teenagers and adults, obviously saying one rubbish or the other (on my part) that never ceases to sends shivers down my spine.
I'm not someone who fancies all eyes on me so being placed infront of an audience with a million eyeballs all looking at me has been my worst nightmare over the years.
I love speaking infront of a little group of friends, classmates and my family but anything more than that is a whole different story.
I still remember the first time I was placed on stages to make presentations I had been practicing enthusiastically for weeks, only for me to get to stage and stand still....... scratch that, I started shaking like a leaf, heart beating five times faster than normal and eventually began shedding tears. The subsequent times were not any better either. That was back then in primary/basic school. I was selected by the class teacher to read the welcome address on graduation day.
Within few days, I had memorised every single vocabulary written down on the paper and knew it by heart. But the moment the time came for the speech and I timidly walked to the podium, I felt eyes around me and immediately wished for the ground to open up and swallow me.
Worst still, my school sets up events on the vast field it has in its glory with tables and chairs arranged in a circular pattern while the stage takes a position in the centre. So you can imagine the amount of fear that gripped my little self.
Over the years, I've tried fighting this fear of mine, following up tips and ideas and suggestions on how to overcome it. Though there has been a difference, an atom of the fear is still sitted right within.
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