ALL THE RIGHT FEARS

"Fear" in Inside Out

In the world of filmography, "fear" is not an unpopular concept. We have hundreds of horror movies scrolling out each year, some of which may not make it to the big screen, yet they are constantly being produced to meet our countless demands. There are also well-known movies titled "Who's afraid of Virginia Wolf?", "Primal Fear" or "Who's afraid of the dark?" etc. that quickly gained reputation after their premieres. In my beloved 2015 Pixar animation "Inside out", Fear is one of the many adorable characters that contributed to the success of the picture.

In our world though, we avoid talking about fears, or even acknowledging them however real they are. Society creates so much pressure on us to not "be afraid". And yes, I believe that is most cases, being fearless makes us stronger to pursue our dreams. But should we always stay fearless? And really, could we?

ON BEING FEARLESS

My mom told me not shortly after I entered kindergarten that I was a "bizarre" girl as I wasn't afraid of performing dangerous tasks that could have easily hurt me. Most of the "allegedly dangerous" things I did like playing with the iron (then getting burnt on the foot), scraping the razors against my palms or setting the blanket on fire (that was close!) basically came from my inexplicable curiosity as a young child. I couldn't anticipate the consequences so I was fearless. 

As children, we were daring because either our tiny brains weren't able to comprehend the outcomes of our misadventures (or as my mother said "what could have been") or we refused to think about them as the thrill took us over. Either way, these misadventures has taught us survival 101. For me, these are definitely hard-earned lessons that never fail to bring a smile to my face :) 

... AND FEARFUL

Well into my late-teenage years, I slowly realized that life is more about "having meanings" rather than merely "existing". When I was 18, my heart was always scared. Deep down, I knew I wasn't living my life as I should have been, and that my whole existence was that of an empty shell overtaken by a vicious circle of endless routines. This went on more dreadfully as I entered university and became quickly aware of my detachment from my own little world. I would go to school having so much fun and go to bed full of self-doubts. All that time, fear crept up to me the way it never had: painful and persistent. Letting time pass me by, among other fears, was the most vivid to me. My struggle lasted until I decided to not live for myself anymore, but to bring more goodness to the world. 

FEAR IS A FRIEND WHO'S MISUNDERSTOOD

My identity crisis has ended, but my fears still remain. Obviously, I have never been fearless as I used to believe as a kid. Strangely enough, I am happier than I could ever be, and in my mind, such an abstract concept of "life" is slowly being revealed in all shapes and colors. My early-life meltdown has brought me to believe that fear itself may be the highest form of uncertainty. At the age of 18, I was standing at the intersection of a hundred different paths I could have taken, choosing one of them bore so much burden on me that I crashed. But I got up, and came to terms with a fact: with fear, comes responsibility. However uncertain I am, it is never an answer to forfeit the fight and be satisfied with the reality, one that I know is no longer my safe house. The world, as I came out of my doubts, welcomed me with big arms.



If you think about it, since the dawn of time, it is fear that has kept us all alive and kicking. The fear of hunger, the fear of darkness, the fear of death and suchlikes have forced us to fend for ourselves and our loved ones. 

Fear is a real friend after all, don't you think? 

Thanks for reading