What is your biggest fear?
Nelly Mendoza-Mendoza ’19: My biggest fear is solitude or being forgotten; the possibility of not finding real love and about the possibility of living without people that really care about me scares me. I enjoy the company of others, so knowing that others are around to support me makes me feel comfortable and loved. Along with this comes the fear of hurting those that I love because I place a lot of value to relationships.
Anna Staropoli ’20: My biggest fear is definitely snakes. When I was younger, I lifted a rock while playing in my backyard and accidentally touched a snake. I’ve been terrified of them ever since.
Hayley Hoverter ’17: It used to be not living up to people’s expectations of me, but now it’s more not being able to find personal fulfillment. Also not being happy.
Leina McDermott ’19: My biggest fear is probably losing someone that I love.
Alison Hagen ’20: My biggest fear is probably heights and falling from tall heights. I could never see myself sky diving and I hate how large height drops feel on amusement park rides.
Julia O’Sullivan ’20: I am most afraid in life when I am jumping on a trampoline with other people because most people are bigger than me and think its funny to bounce into me.
When has fear kept you from doing something?
Mendoza-Mendoza: Telling someone the truth, since I know I might hurt them. But it’s something that I have gotten better at as I have grown older.
Staropoli: Fear has kept me from leaving my comfort zone and doing activities I’m not used to. For instance, I’ve been afraid to take certain classes and join certain groups at Dartmouth because they’re unfamiliar and not necessarily things I’m good at.
Hoverter: A lot. I’ve been scared that I wouldn’t be able to get something that I wanted, so my fear of failure caused me not to try.
McDermott: Freshman fall fear definitely kept me from touching the fire.
Hagen: My fear of heights has stopped me from going on some roller coasters and even the Tower of Terror in Disney World.
What’s an irrational fear that you have?
Mendoza-Mendoza: I am afraid of being in a car accident. When I drive I try to be very careful of other people because I am aware that some people are very irresponsible when it comes to driving. For example, I cannot tolerate people who text or use their phones while driving or who think that they are “good enough” to drink and drive.
Staropoli: I have an irrational fear of underwater tunnels. Whenever I’m in them, I always think that if something were to break in the tunnel, I’d be stranded underwater and unable to get out.
Hoverter: I’m afraid something is going to go horribly wrong and I won’t be able to graduate on time.
McDermott: My younger sister is super into bogs, and this summer she told me that if you get sucked into a bog you don’t decompose you just get pickled, so now I find bogs pretty scary.
Hagen: I can’t think of any irrational fears that I have.
