Childhood fears
When I was younger, bath time was the most hated part of the day. I had always loved water and swimming, but the idea of being in a bath terrified me. I used to think a shark would come up through the plug and eat me. I don’t know how big I thought this shark was, considering my bath was about a meter long but no matter how big it was, I knew it would result in instant death.
This fear was of course accompanied by me being eaten by a panther. We used to have a house out in the escarpment of a little town called Albion Park. Now that I think of it, I should have been more scared of being mugged. However, at the ripe old age of eight, I thought my death would definitely be caused by a wild panther attack in an area where the local attraction was a ‘famous’ pie shop.
The risk of being eaten by a shark was only during bath time, as I knew that a shark wouldn’t eat me if I were in my bedroom (that would be absolutely absurd). I was only at risk of being eaten by a panther when staying in the house at Albion park, I must have had some time when I thought I wouldn’t be in danger, right?
No. I was also convinced a witch lived in our attic. To be fair, this seems like the most legitimate one. She would only come out at night, of course. When I was sleeping, she would grab my leg if it was hanging off and pull me into her den. This would only happen if my leg were hanging off. I would be safe if all limbs were kept on the bed, and even safer with a sheet. No one could get me with that 400 thread count sheet.
Now, these things all seem so silly to me. There is no way a shark could eat me in my bathtub. There is no way a panther could eat me (FYI the Lithgow Panther is a thing- so beware!) I can confirm I sleep without sheets sometimes, and if I’m feeling really daring I’ll let my leg hang over the edge.
At the time I was scared because I thought those things would happen to me, and even now I sometimes get scared about other things. I get scared when I think that I might not make that university deadline, or that my plane will crash, but just like the other things, they will probably never come true.
So, when you’re stressing about things that might not happen, think about all the of times you didn’t get eaten by a shark in the bath.
For more about this author, and the rest of the QF team, click here.
