Assignment 8- Angelica Malkowski

Fears: Sharks

Annoyances: Stupidity, grammatical errors, inconsideration

Accomplishments: straight As student

Confusions: Rudeness, lack of effort

Sorrows: self-doubt

Dreams: a job that I both love and pays well

Idiosyncrasies: band geek, nerd

Risks: rock climbing (done-fake rocks), surfing (not done)

Beloved Possessions, Now and Then: family, friends, and dog (then and now); oboe and phone (now)

Problems: time management, stress

I’m not really sure why sharks scare me so much. When I was little, I loved sharks. I collected shark teeth, particularly in necklace form. I read books about sharks. I even did a 4^th grade report on sharks in which I wrote a narrative about a day in the life of a shark, from the point of view of a shark itself. Although, when I think about it, there is one small sign of the beginning of my fear. Finding Nemo was the first movie I saw in theaters; I was three years old. Don’t get me wrong, I love that movie (and all Pixar movies). But you’ve got to admit that Bruce the great white shark is kind of scary, especially if you’re three. And it didn’t end there. I had bathtub toys of all the Finding Nemo characters-including Bruce, whose eyes would glow red when you pushed down on his fin. I often played with these toys in the water, except Bruce, who I would let float down by the bathtub drain (which I also, at the time, found scary). However, I clearly remained fascinated by sharks until at least 5^th grade. Maybe seeing Soul Surfer with some friends in 5^th grade began my switch from fascination to fear. Maybe seeing the movie reopened my short-lived fear of Bruce and expanded it to what it is now (although 2-3 years ago it was even worse).