I don't consider myself one of those people with irrational fears. Really, I don't. There are just certain things that... make me jumpy. Below, I have included a summary of the greatest threats to my overall sanity:
- putting things in a pre-heated oven without oven mitts (began with the brownie incident of '94)
- getting locked in a stairwell (with no cell phone reception)
- any type of sudden movement following suspenseful music in a movie
- butterflies
Before people judge me for this last fear, I will provide a brief synopsis of how it came to be. I have actually pin-pointed the exact moment when I started to fear these disgusting flappy creatures. I was on my grade 8 band trip to Toronto, and we went to the Niagra Falls Butterfly exhibit. Honestly, they really need to put a warning up. Those things are HUGE and have no morals. They land everywhere, as if it was their god-given right to touch my arm (and worse places too). And they have those fake eyes on their wings. And they just flap their wings so fast. Give it a rest already.
That being said, it isn't just butterflies I am scared of. It is basically anything that has super quick flapping wings.. Like crickets, and moths. They just makes my stomach crawl.
Well, last year I went to the Butterfly exhibit at Carleton. I saw little kids with oranges in their hands to actually attract butterflies to them. I couldn't believe it, who would want that to land on you? Well, I walked in, ran through it as quickly as possible and then went outside and hyperventilated. It was a nightmare, and I am still petrified. I'm not sure if it counts as successful, but I can tell you one thing - I am not doing it again. But I did take this picture:
