by Jamie Vondra

of The Gleaner

The most typical things that people are afraid of include heights, enclosed spaces, flying, spiders, and needles. However, there are many students at Wahlert who have lots of other unique fears.

Anastasia Smith, ‘21, for example, has a huge fear of bikes. When she was about 7 years old, she fell off her bike and was scarred for life. Since then, Smith has never gotten back onto a bike.

Smith said, “There have been many vacations where my family has ridden bikes, so I chose to stay in the hotel room because I was too scared to ride one. All of my friends and family are always sure to make fun of me for it.”

Another odd fear among students includes the fear of balloons. Although it may sound peculiar at first, it is probably something that many of us find uncomfortable. Marco Morel, ‘22, is embarrassed to admit that he gets very anxious around people holding balloons.

“Nothing specific happened to make me fear them, it’s just the sound when people start squeezing balloons that really irritates me,” said Morel. “I just think, ‘Oh, no, it’s going to pop, and it’s going to be so, so loud.’”

Yet another unique fear belongs to Libby Wedewer, ‘20, who has a fear of puke. 

Wedewer said, “When I was younger, I threw up and I just got PTSD. I tend to run away whenever anyone says that they don’t feel good…I definitely get made fun of for it.”

Traumatic childhood experiences have shaped the fears of many. Overall, it is clear that students have many fears, some more distinctive than others.