Everyone has at least one thing in life that scares them. Whether it is spiders, heights, talking in front of the class, or failing at something important, fear is the one thing people all have in common. Fear can be overwhelming sometimes, but learning to face it can be one of the most powerful things a person can do. Fear and anxiety have ways of holding us back from things we may not even realize we are missing.
In my personal experience, anxiety is something I struggle with on the daily. Fear and worry are common themes in most of my days. Going into 2026, I decided that living my life in fear and worry was not the way I wanted to go, and something had to change. Some of my top fears include public speaking, disappointing people, confrontation, being publicly embarrassed, certain foods, and people not liking me. Things such as ordering my food, giving presentations, and people whispering around me make me anxious.
This past week, I was challenged to face a few of my fears, which would usually immediately send me into a worry spiral. With my goal for the new year in mind, I decided to try it out and do something that puts me in an uncomfortable position of fear. I started simple, ordering my own food at Taco Bell (my favorite place on earth). Not being able to order your own food may sound silly to most people, but it is something that has plagued me for most of my life. As I walked into Taco Bell, I felt myself getting nervous, worried that people might make fun of me or think I was weird. Some common symptoms of fear are a racing heart or sweaty palms. Something I have learned is not to fight the fear; instead, let yourself feel it even though it may be uncomfortable (National Health Service Inform). While I was placing my order, I was informed that Taco Bell was out of the item I wanted, which made me nervous because the conversation was not going as I had planned it in my head. But, I persevered and made it through. Ordering my own food is a stressful situation I avoided for a long time, but going through it made it seem less scary, and I think if I wanted to, I could do it again. National Health Service United Kingdom states, “Avoiding situations can make them harder to face up to and mean that our fears grow.”
Another fear I faced this week was the fear of eating certain foods. I have been a picky eater from a very young age, which has always made trying new foods difficult for me. At specific places, I have very specific orders. I know exactly what I like and what I do not like, and it can be hard for me to stray away from those familiar foods. This fear was unknowingly going to be tested this week. As we all know, McDonald’s is notorious for getting orders wrong. My order at McDonald’s is usually a plain cheeseburger, so when they handed me a not plain cheeseburger, I was immediately filled with anxiety. I decided I needed to power through and eat it anyway. After removing the pickles (because that is one food that I refuse to try), I tried the cheeseburger. Was it good? No. Would I try it again? No, but I did try it, and that is what counts.
Something I have learned is that fear does not disappear when you are brave; it fades when we decide not to let it control us. Overcoming fear is not about being “fearless,” it is about taking that step forward, even when things scare you.
