The fear of having no readers...

This week, I've invented my own fear: the fear of no one reading my blog. So, as assigned, I made this advertisement! Enjoy.

What're you most afraid of?

This week, our assignment was to create a poll or quiz. I've asked you all before what you're afraid of, but I'm interested to see what your biggest fear is out of the most common ones. So tell me: What are you afraid of?

Also, I've added a new fear to my list: Earthquakes.

I found my picture here, from google.

What happened in Japan is all over the news, so I'm sure you know what's happening. But doesn't it scare you that it could happen to anyone, anywhere? (Plus, Taylor Swift was in Japan the week before this happened. She donated 10 MILLION dollars to the cause. Another reason why she's so awesome.) But anyways, it made me realize a lot. I've set so many long distance goals in order to make my mark before I die, caused by my fear of being forgotten. But who knows when that will be? And why do they have to be long term goals? There are plenty of things that I could be doing right this very moment to make a difference. So I am. You should, too.

See you next week!

BUCKET LIST!

Before I presented you all with my bucket list, I thought I would show you a clip from my favorite movie that ALWAYS comes to mind when anyone mentions a bucket list. But of course, I couldn't find it online at all.

So here is a link from Easy A, my favorite movie, that is completely unrelated to our assignment but that I want to share with you all. WOODCHUCKS!! and, of course, "WHO TOLD YOU?!"

For those of you who don't know, I'm an obsessive planner. So one day, before I asked J. Clay to meet with me to plan out my life (or my classes), I showed her my bucket list. And, thus, this assignment was born. So here is my bucket list!

THE BUCKET LIST THE BUCKET LIST!

(That was for those of you who have seen Easy A, and know what I'm talking about.) 

• Own a pet sheep (or at least see one in real life)
• Go sky diving or cliff diving
•   Study abroad- preferably in Cambridge
•   Meet Taylor Swift and ask her to be my best friend
• See a shooting star
• Spend a full night on the beach in Hawaii, then watch the sun rise
• Watch the sunrise from the top of a mountain
•  Have something I wrote published 
• Go back to NYC
• Construct a closet like Carrie from Sex And The City
• VEGAS VEGAS VEGAS
• Win a rap battle
• Write a book
•  Mission trip to Africa 
• Build a house with Habitat for Humanity
• Take a spontaneous trip with no plan 
• Order 50 McNuggets and eat them all

My bucket list video will follow shortly. :)

Acrophobia: Fear of heights

This week I was planning to focus on conquering one of my own fears—heights. There’s a little park near my house, Roger’s Bridge Park, with an old oil pipe that crosses the Chattahoochee river. It’s wide,  has rails on each side, most parts are rusted, and has clearly been there for years. To me, this bridge screams death trap. To everyone else I know, it screams BA.For some reason, when there’s nothing to do in the afternoon, we always end up here. I make it a few feet out and then sit down on the pipe, clinging for dear life.

Enter Noah Hoback—Mr. Adventurous. We’ve been going to this park for over a year, most afternoons, just to sit and talk. He runs- yes, RUNS-  back and forth across the pipe while I sit and complain relentlessly about how dangerous it is.

Well, this past Saturday, February 12, 2011, I, Katharine Jane Barth, decided to cross the bridge. Noah and I pull into the park, my camera in hand. I was determined to have him videotape me crossing the bridge and facing my fear of heights. Also, my shrieking and possible cussing would fulfill my sound clip requirement.

Unfortunately, my grand plan was squashed. Roger’s Bridge Park has been transformed into “Chattapoochie” (Get it? It’s punny. A dog park on the Chattahoochee!), and the bridge has been blocked off.  But I will say, the fact that I went to the park even intending to make it more than 12 steps out is a HUGE deal. So until I find another  bridge, or some other death trap that’s high up and I deem relatively safe enough to test out my newfound courage, this post will remain unfinished.

I will, however, post a sound clip. This is a video of someone else conquering my fear. And that someone is a dog. Named Mindy. Mindy the skydiving dog is awesome.

Last week, Whitney inspired me to add something new to my posts to make them more interesting. This would be me attempting to skydive: I cry a lot and hate heights.

Also, the lovely Laura Bolling from my first post about fear (the fear of public speaking), gave me a little gift this week to remind me to face my fear. It’s a candy wrapper! Yes, a candy wrapper. From Dove chocolate. Which happens to be my favorite. For those of you who don’t know, Dove always puts inspiring sayings inside the candy wrapper. This one said “Be fearless”. It couldn’t be more perfect! So now I carry it in my wallet, as a little reminder to be fearless.

See you guys next week. Stay awesome. 

Fear: What are you afraid of?

According to dictionary.com, fear is...

fear

-noun

1.

a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain,etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling orcondition of being afraid.

2.

a specific instance of or propensity for such a feeling: anabnormal fear of heights.

3.

concern or anxiety; solicitude: a fear for someone's safety.

4.

reverential awe, especially toward god.

5.

that which causes a feeling of being afraid; that of which aperson is afraid: Cancer is a common fear.


 I'm so excited about the positive reaction to my new topic! I thought I'd continue to focus on my biggest fear- athazagoraphobia. As I was doing research for my post, I had The Princess Diaries on in the background. I was having trouble finding a place to start, so I took a "mental break" (aka procrastinated) and watched. The movie was at the part where Mia and Lilly are fighting because Mia forget to come to Lilly's radio show Saturday night, and Mia confesses that she decided not to accept the job as princess. Lilly begins to explain why Mia should reconsider, and their conversation stuck with me:

Lilly: "Wanting to rock the world, but having zero power, that sucks. But you? Wow."
Mia: "What is wow?"
Lilly: "Wow is having the power to affect change, to make people listen. How many teenagers have that opportunity? It's a miracle."

That is my thought process in a nutshell. I want to make an impact. Brenau has helped me grow so much already-- mostly because I'm learning to step out of my shell even when I'm scared-- and I want to give back as much as I can. Even years after I've graduated, I want students and faculty alike to remember all of the positive things I've done for the school. I'm not exactly a fearless leader. I'm awkward and get so nervous that my hands shake when I talk in front of people. But regardless of this, I want the power to affect change and to make people listen. I don't want to be forgotten.


What are you afraid of? Heights? Open spaces? Chickens? Men? The first step I took when researching fear was to look for a phobia list. You'd be surprised at all of the different phobias that people suffer from! Some are bizarre and entertaining, some are extremely common, and some might just apply to you. But I'm curious- what scares you? Take a look at the list below and let me know what you find. This blog has become a small step that I'm taking to affect change and have people listen. Yes I know... you're required to read, it's your grade. But I'm hoping that it'll help you as much as I hope it will help me. :)

So tell me... What are you afraid of?


Next week? "I'll see you then, or I'll see you another time." - I Love You, Man.

New and improved topic: FEAR!

 "You should do one thing every day that scares you." 

This week I was hanging out in my friend's room and saw the above quote on her wall. This quote got me thinking- I'm scared of everything. I'm scared of heights, roller coasters, people who drive too fast, sudden turns, open water, water skiing, being in the dark alone, most vegetables, failure, public speaking... everything. Athazagoraphobia, is my greatest fear-- the fear of being forgotten or ignored. You're probably thinking "Wow, what isn't she afraid of?" Yeah, I'm wondering the same thing. Everyone loves a success story. We all love to hear about people who overcome their fears. Why not blog about it? So I've decided to change the premise of my blog. Each week, I will post about fears. I'll post things that scare me, fears I've conquered that week, fears others have conquered- anything that relates to the fear that consumes so many of us.

Now that I've introduced my new and improved topic, I'll move on to my interview. I interviewed Laura Bolling, a Junior and fellow Brenau student. I picked her because Saturday night, right before I was about to face my fear of being in front of people by performing a step with my sorority, she conquered one of my own fears: public speaking. There were way too many people to count crammed in the tiny side room at the gag, and before she spoke, she was telling me not to be nervous. She didn't seem phased by the crowd at all. And then she spoke without a stutter.


KB: How would you define fear?
LB: A psychological situation that causes anxiety or unpleasant emotions


KB: What are you afraid of? 

LB: Rodents, people finding out my secrets, and being ineffective

KB: What is your biggest fear?

LB: That I'll miss the opportunity to change the world. Or that even though I tried, it will stay the same. 

KB: What helps you conquer your fears, big or small?

LB: Being proactive. If I see a problem, I try to change it.

KB: "You should do one thing each day that scares you." How do you feel about this quote?

LB: Gloria Steinem once said that you should do one outrageous thing a day and I think they go hand in hand. If you do one thing that scares you each day, you'll eventually become fearless.  

KB:  Who has inspired you to face your fears?

LB: Probably my mother. She has faced such hard and scary times, but she still comes out of situations with a pure and open heart and she refuses to become jaded. 

KB:  Have you conquered any fears since you've come to Brenau?

LB: PUBLIC SPEAKING!!! I used to be so afraid to speak in front of my peers and now I truly enjoy it. 

(This is my biggest fear, and the very reason why I picked Laura to interview!)

KB: What is the scariest thing you've ever done?

LB: Moving away from a horrible situation in Washington state. In freeing myself, I found Brenau and became the woman I am today. 

Next, I asked her to say the first thing that came to her mind when I mentioned the following:

KB: Fear?

LB: unknown 

KB: Phobia?

LB: RATS!!!

KB: Caution?

LB: Driving

KB: Brave?

LB: Standing up to injustice

Same time next week? Perfect. See you then. :)

Residential Roommate Hell

This week, one thing in particular stuck out in my mind: roommate problems.

Last year, I couldn’t WAIT to have a roommate and have coordinating bed sets... and have someone to hang out with all the time. I’m an only child, so I was convinced my roommate and I would have a sisterly bond. My roommate was also an only child, also blonde with blue eyes. We were similar heights, had similar interests, and even similar pasts. Both of us had never met our biological father. Both of us were going through a really rough break up. Both of us wanted to be ADPis. We were the “same person”.

I never realized how hard it was to live with someone. Within a week, we were fighting. The entire semester was a battle. She no longer attends Brenau, so this semester I have a new roommate. But now one of my close friends is having roommate problems. It never ends! The underlying problem in both of our situations was that we both thought because we were roommates, we had to be best friends. WRONG. That will never be true. If it is, awesome.  

This semester, I have a new roommate. She’s new to Brenau and we aren’t very close. But now I’m constantly being told that I should bring her around with me more, hang out with her more, tell her more, share more… the list is endless. Where is the happy medium?

I am your roommate, not your mother. I shouldn’t have to take out the garbage every week. I shouldn’t be the only one cleaning. It’s not okay for you to pop in a movie at midnight because you don’t have class tomorrow even though I have an 8 am. If you leave your laundry in the dryer and have to go to class, it’s not my job to wait for it to finish to bring it back to our room! You are in college—don’t put in your laundry if you know you don’t have the time to watch it. No, I will not make your bed. What's mine is NOT yours. Most of this is common sense, but almost all of my friends have an endless list of complaints about their roommate simply not understanding the concept.

It’s okay to be polite without being best friends. It’s okay to be involved in different things. You are my roommate, we are not the same person.