I'm not afraid of spiders.
I'm not afraid of the dark. I'm not afraid of dying. I'm not afraid of fire, or flying, or small places, or heights, or of being hit by a car on the way to school, or being robbed, or being struck by lightning or being devoured by a swarm of ravenous ants.
I'm afraid of doing a bad job at work and having somebody complain to my boss. Not because I'll get into trouble, but because it would mean I did something wrong enough to warrant complaint. I'm afraid of doing badly on essays and asking stupid questions- or worse, volunteering the wrong answers when a question is asked- in school. I'm afraid I might not get into the classes I need this coming semester, meaning I'll be wasting precious time. I'm afraid I might live with my family until I am 24 or 25. I'm afraid I won't be able to get my Bachelors degree AND teaching credentials before the financial aid times out. I am afraid that my clothes smell like cat pee and I can't tell. I'm afraid I will never have a real job.
I am terrified of being a failure.
I had one of those moments. The one where you look up from the thing you are doing up-close in the real world and see the future ahead of you. And the future looks like one big flat plane. No, it looks like a gaping chasm. Not the good kind of "anything is possible!" chasm, but the kind where you trip and fall and then continue to fall for what feels like forever until there is a loud crack and a sudden stop.
I am afraid.