When people ask me what my greatest fear is, I don't tell them heights. I don't say I'm afraid of the dark. Clowns don't bother me. I kill bugs for my roommates all the time. The prospect of a zombie apocalypse doesn't even phase me. I'm not actually sure that I fear fear itself. I've realized what I am most afraid of in this world: numbers.
Save me from those terrifying little things, those ten digits that can form literally countless combinations of ferocious, intimidating, deadly numerals.
I am not kidding when I say that the only test I have ever cheated on was a second-grade division "Mad Minute." Now there's a terrifying thought: Handing a nine-year-old a sheet of paper filled with impossible problems such as 17/3 and 12/2, that stretch seemingly endlessly down eleven and a half inches of stark white, recycled tundra, and expect her to solve as many as she can in a measly 60 seconds. I shudder still.
Save me from those terrifying little things, those ten digits that can form literally countless combinations of ferocious, intimidating, deadly numerals.
I am not kidding when I say that the only test I have ever cheated on was a second-grade division "Mad Minute." Now there's a terrifying thought: Handing a nine-year-old a sheet of paper filled with impossible problems such as 17/3 and 12/2, that stretch seemingly endlessly down eleven and a half inches of stark white, recycled tundra, and expect her to solve as many as she can in a measly 60 seconds. I shudder still.
But what I have come to realize is that numbers, like clowns or the walking dead, are fears that we will all eventually have to face. As a journalism major, I have been forced to face this fear many times. I sat in the very front row of a big lecture hall last year, paying extremely close attention to my statistics professor: a sly wizard of a man, for conquering numbers with such ease. Like Merlin ... or Dumbledore.
In Professor Lowe's Journalism 1100 class, which I took 4 semesters ago, we discussed numbers and how important it is to be able to do math as a journalist. I have edited stories for the Marquette Tribune where I had to struggle through computations and sift through statistics. Undoubtedly, it's incredibly crucial. But so is going to the dentist twice a year. That doesn't make either any less frightening.
I am slowly conquering my (completely rational) fear of numbers. I sat in the third row of my Microeconomics class last semester, and I even drew up a budget for my recent Spring Break trip. Numbers are extremely important, especially in the fact-filled journalism world. I will eventually conquer my fear. It may take a while, but it will happen.
In Professor Lowe's Journalism 1100 class, which I took 4 semesters ago, we discussed numbers and how important it is to be able to do math as a journalist. I have edited stories for the Marquette Tribune where I had to struggle through computations and sift through statistics. Undoubtedly, it's incredibly crucial. But so is going to the dentist twice a year. That doesn't make either any less frightening.
I am slowly conquering my (completely rational) fear of numbers. I sat in the third row of my Microeconomics class last semester, and I even drew up a budget for my recent Spring Break trip. Numbers are extremely important, especially in the fact-filled journalism world. I will eventually conquer my fear. It may take a while, but it will happen.