Maybe it's the rose colored glasses, but most of us would love to swap out the same fears we had as a child, with the ones we have now.
When you're a kid, you worry about the important things in life. Will mom catch me playing X-box or smoking weed? Will my teacher care if I don't do my homework? Does Jessica from Social Studies have a crush on me?
Adults on the other hand are left to deal with trivial things like credit card bills, taxes, and the pressure of providing for a family. Age brings responsibility and perspective, and those bring new fears into the equation. Maybe it's the rose colored glasses, but most of us would love to swap out the same fears we had as a child, with the ones we have now. Unfortunately, we're left to grapple with the big stuff because nobody else can.
Here are 20 adults sharing their biggest fears, now that they're older.
1
Getting weird letters from the government.
2
Lack of time. As a kid, I felt like I had all the time in the world. As an adult, I feel like I have no time to do anything other than work.
3
Falling down. As a kid, you get back up, no problems. As an adult, one fall, and that could be permanent damage or a long recovery.
4
Time goes faster when you're older.
5
Losing loved ones. The older I get, the more I realize how precious time is with family and friends.
6
Jumping down from a height greater than a few feet. As a kid I could jump off a roof and roll with it, nowadays if I land funny I fear I’ll be paralyzed for life.
7
I now get nightmares just by looking at my monthly credit card bill.
8
Dementia. It destroys one's own mind and sanity, but is also torture for the family and friends who have to help care for them.
10
As an adult I'm scared of failure and letting down the people who depend on me.
11
Driving. We let 16-year-olds hurtle several tons of solid metal down the street at 30, 50, 70mph after a written test and a month or two of daily practice. How are we not having more accidents? I don't care if it's convenient, that’s dangerous!
12
Heights. No fear as a kid. Now, I can't even go to a treetop adventure fun park.
13
Water. I was a lifeguard as a teenager. Loved the beach and loved swimming. Now that my frontal lobe has developed, I'm petrified of sharks and dark water.
14
Bridges. As a kid I lived in West Virginia, which had some really dodgy looking bridges. Now I live in California and I hate having to go over some of the higher bridges around here, even though they're well maintained.
15
The unstoppable march of technology. Don’t get me wrong, I love the convenience of smartphones and the internet. But remember when we weren’t all glued to screens, constantly bombarded with notifications and information? Sometimes, the pace of change and the expectation to keep up can be overwhelming. Makes you miss the days of playing outside until the streetlights came on.
16
Layoffs. Your livelihood, and means of supporting everything can just be gone in an instant.
17
The absolute idiocy of humanity and the lack of principled decisions on any matter whatsoever.
18
The idea that you have to look after another human being.
19
Retirement, and if I’ll have enough money to pay for it, or leave my children.
20
As depressing as it sounds, I’m afraid of death now. I wasn’t really afraid of growing up because I didn’t enjoy life much. I’m happy now, as such I desperately want to continue living.
