I ain't scared of no spida!

My little sister is highly allergic to Spiders. If she’s bitten, her eyes swell up.

I used to be afraid of Spiders. I vividly recall my 7th birthday. My birthday is close to Halloween, so it was always a Halloween themed party and we would go Downtown (Menlo Park) to go trick-or-treating at the stores. My parents didn’t let us do the regular type of trick or treating so we looked forward to my birthday. We trick-or-treated, ate Chinese food, played in the backyard and had an amazing time. At the end of the party, we were sitting in the living room waiting for everyone’s rides to arrive. I was dozing off a bit, but I swear I looked down and there was a daddy long legs that was sitting on my leg!! No joke, it was larger than my adult hand. I started screaming bloody murder and jumped up. No one could find the spider and everyone told me I imagined it, but I know it was real.

My little sister, Breona, is 12 and a half years younger than me. When she was young we discovered that she was highly allergic to Spider bites. I used to feel so bad for her when she was bitten, she looked so miserable! When I became an older older sister (I say this because I have a brother that is 5 and a half years younger than me) I couldn’t be afraid of things anymore, specifically Spiders.

I decided I could no longer live in fear. There is too much at stake to be afraid. If I still lived in fear of killing spiders, it could have really hurt Breona. It would probably be the one time I refused to kill the spider that she would be bitten and her throat closed up! It’s extreme, but when deciding whether or not to live in fear this could truly be the cost.

People are often very complacent; being comfortable with not moving forward. The main reason why they choose not to pursue their dreams is because they are scared of not achieving them. But think about what is at stake: living a life of unfulfillment that will likely turn into bitterness and a bunch of “what ifs”. The last thing I would want to do is live a life and at the end of it think about all of the missed opportunities because I was too afraid to take a chance. News flash: life is extremely scary!! It’s hard, confusing, and it can be terrifying at times. We don’t always know what the results of our actions will be, but that’s no excuse to sit on the sidelines, wishing you had the courage to get in the game.

I encourage everyone out there to take reasonable risks that will improve your life (that doesn’t involve possibly going to jail lol). Who knows what you can achieve if you just give what you are so afraid of a try. Maybe it’s singing, or trying out for a sports team, or asking a person out. You could be depriving yourself from the most amazing life you could possibly have.