Fear is the nervousness before taking the SAT. Fear is the anxiety before a speech and possibly during. Fear is thinking about the near future and its uncertainty. We have all encountered fear at one time or another. Its definition states to be afraid of (someone or something) as likely to be dangerous, painful, or threatening. Fear can create these negative feelings, such as weakness and pain. Ever heard of the saying “Pain is inevitable; Suffering is optional”? Humans are accountable of their actions, not the other way around. People make themselves suffer instead of using the strength to push through it. With that fear can be used in good ways; it can create determination and perseverance to make you pass the SAT or deliver a lengthy speech. Therefore, I believe that fear is a superpower.

I know that I need to be in control of my fears, and not be controlled by them. Growing up, I had the common fear of the dark. I think it was just because I was exposed to scary movies at a young age. Something about having an unknown creature jumping out at you in the dark isn’t cool at all. At five years old when my Mom would scold me to turn off lights, I would just book it from the room and back. I didn’t care if I ran over the dog because my self control was out the window, nowhere to be seen. Later my Mom got me glow-in-the-dark stars for the ceiling and a couple of nightlights, she said “Here, stop running into the dog”.  No more running and no more tripping over the dog. Of course today, there are still some stupid things I am afraid of, but I keep them under control.

There are fears that I don’t want to get rid of because they give me determination to get important things done. “The National Center for Educational Statistics found that high school students who do homework outside of school average 6.8 hours of homework per week”, about 7 hours or more of my life is devoted to homework to get a good grade. I know that may seem pretty long and sometimes I have fight the urge of procrastination, but constant reminders that push me to do my homework are the fear of bad grades or fear of disappointing my parents.

I also have the fear of disappointing myself. I’ve gotten used to the satisfaction of success, I never want to let myself down. I know my strengths, abilities, my breaking points, which help me achieve goals. I use fear as my ultimate motivator. It is what created the determination to finish this essay. Without fear there would be no excitement in life. For example, in skydiving, there is always fear that your parachute won’t work. The only way to find out is to take the chance, and jump. Without the fear that twists your stomach there really is no excitement, there wouldn’t be an adrenaline rush that fear created once you jumped.

I believe that facing fears is the perfect way to live without regret and with freedom. We fail to see that change will result knowledge and growth. We cling to the familiar because it is familiar and seems to be secure. If it wasn’t for fear, I wouldn’t be a 4.0 student, I wouldn’t try cantonese food and learn that I’m allergic to it, I would be stuck in a bubble and I wouldn’t be the same person I am today. Fear is a good thing, this I believe.