“There is nothing to fear but fear itself.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Roosevelt said this in his first inaugural address during the Great Depression. Although this famous quote was spoken during a national crisis, I believe that it is relevant to almost every aspect of life.
Children, adults, and especially high school students go through their day-to-day lives with the fear of being rejected, looked down upon, or judged. Not only is there a fear of these actual things but a nervousness of expressing those fears.
People spend their lives filtering what they say and do because of fear. It doesn’t matter if someone is afraid of telling another person how they feel due to the fear of rejection, or if someone is afraid to wear a certain outfit because they are afraid of being judged.
Regardless of what the situations are, people are scared. I believe this holds us back in this life. When a person doesn’t express their true feelings it eliminates so many possibilities. Who knows, maybe that other person feels the same way. The fact of the matter is that without speaking up about how we feel, we never know what can happen.
Relationships are not the only thing that brings about fear. At Westminster specifically, I believe students are often times afraid of expressing a certain point of view because it may be looked down upon.
For instance, I don’t think that students speak up as much as they would like in classes like worldviews or ethics about issues with which they truly disagree. This is because they are afraid that because their views differ from the majority or what is being taught, that by speaking up they may be ignored or put down for thinking something different.
I’ve caught myself doing this in worldviews this year. Our class has been discussing different secular philosophies, and there have been a few times when the question is asked, “How can people believe these things?” The typical response includes something about how Jesus is the only thing that makes sense in this world and its unbelievable how anyone can think differently. However, sometimes it does make sense to me how people can believe in something other than Christianity but I am almost always hesitant to express that. This is not the way it should be, especially in a Christian atmosphere. Students should feel comfortable stating their thoughts and perspectives without the fear of being judged.
Sometimes I catch myself wanting to wear a certain shirt, and then second-guessing myself because I think, “Is this ‘in’?” or “No one else has ever worn something like this so maybe I shouldn’t be the first one”.
Fear dictates much of the way we live our lives. As Roosevelt said, “There is nothing to fear but fear itself.” If people live their lives in fear of what other people might think, the number of relationships and experiences they will miss out on can’t even be counted. The only thing we really have to be afraid of is fear. Fear prevents us from being who we are and doing what we want. In order to create stronger relationships and stand up for what we believe in regardless of what others may say or think, we have to tear down the wall of fear that is preventing us from living a fuller life.