I believe that starting in your comfort zone can slowly conquer your fears. This has helped me get over my fear of the unknown, more specifically, animals. I don’t exactly know when my fear of animals began. I think it got worse when I was sevenish and a chick, as in baby chicken, I was holding pooped on me, I’m not as afraid of bees, snakes, squirrels--it’s mainly house pets and large animals. I’m mainly afraid the animal would attack me and then it would injure me or I would slowly die due to fatal injuries. It’s not that I was afraid of animals in general, it was more of what they would or could do to me. Thankfully,  I’ve slowly decreased my fear by starting in my comfort zone and slowly expanding.

When I was younger there was a family that lived next door, and they had a very sweet chocolate Labrador named Bella. My brother and I were terrified of Bella and they had to hold her and then put her in a special area so we didn’t have to interact. Over time, I slowly became used to her presence and she was allowed to roam free without trouble. When I was in third grade, I went to a friend’s house for the first time and discovered she had a dog. It wouldn’t be that big of a deal, except it was a Great Dane. Yes, a Great Dane. Terrifyingly huge, playful, thinking he was a puppy. Worst combinations possible. After they realized I was terrified of him, her family put him in the backyard when I came over. Eventually, over time, he was allowed to roam free, even though he was still terrifying. I’ve slowly become more accustomed to animals, but I still am very wary around animals I’ve never met or I’ve only been around less than five times.
     

After these horrifying experiences, I decided I could take care of  a pet that wasn’t a fish, but my dad didn’t want any other pets. I was afraid of our new pet biting me, we didn’t have the time, and we didn’t have the money. I don’t know why, but I pleaded, begged, and bargained with my brother to get a pet. When we moved into our new house, our parents finally agreed that we could have pets, so we got three hamsters. Of course, I had the fear that they would bite me and scratch me, but when I held them, they rarely ever bit. They, of course, are super adorable, and I love them, but I needed more. I decided, why not cats? So after much begging and pleading, we got two kittens named Oscar and Lily. Finally, two pets that I could waste my days playing with and cuddling, this is not the case with a fish and hamsters. Unfortunately, there were many things in the way of my deep desire. For example, the conflict in my brain of will they love me, will they bite me, will they scratch me, owning a cat sounds painful, but they’re so cute, but they might kill me in my sleep, but they’ll be more present in my life, but I don’t know how to hold a cat, and I don’t know how to take care of a cat.
   

 At this point in my life, I’d never held a dog or a cat in my life, never. I was really on the fence about getting a cat, but I still helped my brother convince my mom. When we went to pick up the cats I was asked if I wanted to hold Oscar and I said, very unsurely, “I guess…” They handed him to me. It was terrifying. I was so scared I would drop him and that I wouldn’t be able to hold him. I was holding him, but then he got squirmy, tried to go on my shoulder, and then scratched me, so I gave him to my mom. After the first couple days and a how to hold the kitten lesson, I got the hang of holding both the cats, and I now love them to death. I thought the scratching would be a big problem and be super painful, but it’s actually not. I’m also over the fear of them killing me at night because we put them in the bathroom. I love my cats.  Over time, I’ve become a lot more comfortable with animals and I’m not done trying. If you have a fear or conflict, I strongly recommend you start simple and in your comfort zone and then slowly move towards conquering that conflict or fear one inch away from your comfort zone at a time, rather than jumping straight into something.