CHINA

a lot of Fears... But for now, I'm running out my time for preparing my graduation show...
--Lin, Female, China

We all experience fear, but what is the fear? The definition of fear is an emotion of alarm and agitation caused by the expectation or realization of danger. What am I afraid of? I have thought about this for a while. I have too many things to worry about but real three greatest fears are falling from high buildings, liver cancer, and war. First, I have a deep fear of standing on the high buildings because I am a survivor of falling accident. This accident happened ten years ago. When studied in the college in China, one day, I attempted to crawl to my dormitory from the window of the next-door neighbor because I left my key in the room. I lost control balance and fell from the 5th floor. Fortunately, I took a grip on a rope for drying clothes between two buildings when I was falling. I had only minor injuries from the accident, but I never forget I thought "My god, I must be died!" when I was falling from the 5th floor. From that time, the fear of accident of falling keeps me from going to high buildings. I avoid living in the department in the high floor, and travel always take bus or train instead of airplane. Even I just waited them on the lobby when my family and my friends came to Toronto to go to CN Tower. This experience gave me too much fear of falling and it keeps me from doing something which normal! people to do. Second, I am afraid of the liver cancer because I knew a little more about it than other people. After graduating from the medical college in China, I worked as a surgeon at the institute of liver cancer. I knew that liver cancer is difficult to control unless the cancer is found when it is very small, but primary liver cancer is also difficult to detect at an early stage because its first symptoms are usually vague. The development of liver cancer is believed to be related to infection with hepatitis-B virus (HBV). HBV is passed from one person to another in certain body secretions or blood. These may occur when sharing something like bowls and chopsticks in restaurant. In Asia, people always share these bowls and chopsticks in families or in restaurants and HBV is easy to infect each other. So, I seldom go out for dinner. I am always careful, even cooked in home I often remember food safety, such as washing my hands well before preparing foods, storing food correctly, and ! cooking food sufficiently. The fear of liver cancer makes me have a health habit. Last, I am afraid of the war. There are two important reasons .One is that my parents and brother are all soldiers and I grew in army. My last name "Bing" Chinese means soldier. My parents took part in Korea War against American in 1950 and my brother joined Vietnam War from 1979 to 1982. I remember I worried about hearing my brother's news whatever bad or good news, and never took care about brother like this way. This fear gave me very impress on the war when I just twelve years old. The second reason is that I find violence rarely settles anything. Human race does not like laboratory species, which obey selective rules to attack each other for surviving. Otherwise, peace, goodness, love really makes the world better because we are human beings. The fear of war gives me a lesson. In short, fear is healthy, and we all feel it. It keeps us from doing foolish things, and the most important thing is that it gives us some enlightenment of life.
--bchen, Male, China