Friday, February 19, 2010

Fear

When I was young, I was terrified of trains. As a child, I spent a lot of time at my grandpa's house. Along his property, there were railroad tracks. Everyday, twice a day, the train would zoom by and blow its horn because of an upcoming intersection. It just so happened that when the train tooted its horn, the train was right behind the house which was only about 100 feet. The horrific noise scared me to death. As well, the train shook the ground and the house, seeming like an earthquake. One day, I was playing outside and the door to get inside got locked, but I nor my parents realized it did. Blowing its horn, the train alarmed me and I sprinted to the door, which was locked. Being only four years old, I panicked; I started crying and screaming. I ran to the window and pounded on it as hard as I could until I captured someone's attention; meanwhile, the monster continued to create noise. Finally, my mom opened the door and I ran in, out of breath. She immediately wrapped her arms around me and comforted me until I was calm and tranquil. Childrens' imaginations create irrational but realistic fears that everyone experiences and can look back and laugh about.