Every individual fears something that has or has not been experienced depending on his or her views, perceptions, beliefs, and information shared by others. Before going to the school, there were certain fears that I had regarding my life away from home and being part of a group unknown to me. In the current reflective paper, I would present three different fears that I had about my life at school and shared my experiences that actually either helped me to overcome these fears or strengthened them further.
My first and foremost fear of selecting a school was related to my decision to move away from home. Since the begining, I had lived with parents at their home and in one way or another I was dependent upon my parents. I always sought their help whenever I needed and were the only child of my parents I received utmost care and attention from them. The situation at home made me fear about leaving my parents and moving to another state for the university. Therefore, I could say that I was suffering from school phobia (Doctor, Kahn and Adamec 426). Although I was mature enough and able to control my emotions, I was worried if I would be able to manage my life without my parents. However, after coming to the school I felt more independent to make decisions that I helped me settle down and participate in different activities. I am able to realize that moving away from home was a good decision as I felt more responsible for my actions, and I have to evaluate each and every situation and relationship that could affect my studies.
Another fear that I had before going to the school was social fear whether I would be able to interact with students in my class. I always had limited friends, and I felt that I could only communicate with them as they understood me. I had difficulties in making new friends and this somewhat created social phobia over the years. My social phobia did not end after coming to the school (Hyman 50). I am still having problems communicating with others, and this condition has limited my interactions with other students in the class. I have only been able to contact two other students who share similar interest in artwork and participated in a workshop along with me and several other students.
One other fear that I had before going to the university was fear of education. I have been an average student so far, and I had a fear that I would not be able to face pressures of education. I felt that I would not be able to respond to my instructors or perform well in my studies / course works. It would put me in a difficult situation where I have to tell my parents about my progress. The fear of failing in my studies remained with me until recently. At the university, I sought help from student's support center and my teachers to overcome this fear. They helped me a lot and gave me tips to overcome my fear. After initial few months and failures, I was able to be more attentive to my studies and adopted a better approach. Instead of giving up, I was able to learn from mistakes and perform much better in my assignments and exams.
Works Cited
Doctor, Ronald M., Ada P. Kahn and Christine Adamec. The Encyclopedia of Phobias, Fears, and Anxieties. New York: Infobase Publishing, 2009.
Hyman, Steven. Fear and Anxiety: The Science of Mental Health. New York: Routledge, 2001.
