This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at TCNJ chapter.
I stopped 15 people outside the Brower Student Center and Eick and asked them what their fears are. Here are their answers and explanations:
- Not finding a boyfriend to settle down with after college: “No one has even asked me out yet, so who knows? I might never get married at this rate.”
- Not making enough money in the future: “We all want those fancy Instagram lives. Where you wear Chanel just to get a Starbucks coffee. I know they live in a false reality and they even say they feel like their lives are empty, but I can’t help but want that life too.”
- Dying and not being ready in terms of religion: “God is looking down on me and is just shaking his head. If I die, I would definitely go to Hell.”
- North Korea striking us: “We are pretty close to the city. And that UN speech our President gave was terrifying.”
- Becoming the other woman: “There is nothing that makes me freak out more when dating a guy. He will be on his phone and say it’s a girl in his class, but I definitely have trust issues. I never would intentionally want to be the other woman.”
- Being racist: “My parents make super racist comments. I think it stems from jealously when they see immigrants making six figures and my dad is still on his farm. I get really scared after college that I will just sit in front of the TV all day like my dad and become him.”
- Getting fat: “It’s super shallow, but I genuinely do get my confidence from being fit. If I got fat, I can really see my self-esteem plummeting.”
- Getting tied down: “It’s not because I’m your stereotypical frat guy. I know people think I am. But getting tied down to a girl just symbolizes that I’m transitioning into an adult. Like, I will have to stop drinking, get a job, that kind of thing.”
- President Trump: “He actually scares me. Not him physically. What he represents. How he was able to split the country so easily. It really shows how much hatred and ignorance some people have and that scares me since I wear a hijab.”
- My parent’s health: “My parents are getting older. I definitely don’t want to put them in a nursing home. But I don’t think I’ll be making that much money to be able help them out.”
- Getting a divorce / having an abusive husband: “Divorce is so complicated and ruins families, you know? If he’s abusive, family and money can easily keep you from escaping.”
- Aging: “I’ll be watching a show like Friends and everyone is so gorgeous. But now you look at them and they have aged. It scares me, going through that process. We have that concept in society where once you’re in your 30s, that’s it. You have to start to try and reverse the aging process. And we place so much hype over college being the best years of our lives. It really isn’t. It makes you think ‘so there’s nothing better than this? Just drinking and studying and repeating every week?’”
- Having no friends: “I definitely cannot be that girl who gets a boyfriend or a husband, and stops talking to her friends. It scares me. It places way too much emphasis on one guy. I always want to have my friends around to get coffee with, to joke around with, to go shopping together, etc.”
- Having my kids turn out bad: “I don’t want to put so much time and energy into raising a kid only to find out he makes misogynistic comments or a girl who just slut shames to make herself feel better. I want them to have a good personality and respect others.”
- My dog dying: “He has like 15 different photo albums. I’m such a mom to him. Just the thought of him getting sick or dying makes me tear up. I will be a wreck when he leaves me. I don’t even think I can get another dog after that. I love him too much.”
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