Jared Marcelle:
All right. Number one. Space. I always loved space growing up. You know, you watch Magic School Bus. You know, Miss Frizzle turns the school bus into a spaceship and you’re going to space. And you watch all these movies and stuff. Space Jam was my favorite movie growing up with Michael Jordan, and then I think I saw, it was Armageddon or something like that. And, like, I don't know if it was Bruce Willis or whoever it was, something happened where I think he took his helmet off and he froze to death instantly. I said, oh shit, nah man. Space is scary as hell. I don't want nothing to do with space. I don't want to be astronaut. I used to want to be an astronaut. Now I don't want to be an astronaut anymore.
Number Two. Eagles.
Number three. I'm afraid of ships. Ships. S-H-I-P-S.
Number four. I'm afraid of what other people think about me. I've always had like a serious demeanor, you know? Even when I was a really small kid. So people would say, “What's wrong? Why are you angry? Why are you upset?” And it always confused me. So, like, I would go home and look in the mirror and look at myself and say, like, what is wrong with me? Like, why are people asking me this? You know, why are people asking me why I'm always angry? And it confused me, so I would, like, look in the mirror and try to find like a less angry or intimidating face or something like that. You know, growing up and experiencing those kinds of things have been a great teacher for me. I don't judge anyone for anything because I don't like how it feels when people do it to me. Obviously, I am me. I am a big black guy and I guess I can intimidate people. And I've always tried to make myself as small as possible in the sense that I don't want anyone to feel threatened around me because I don't want that to take away opportunities. But, it's not my job to make them feel comfortable. And I've come to realize that, because there's nothing wrong with me, you know? I'm a decent guy, I feel.
Number five. I have fear of being average and not reaching my potential.
Number six. Waterbugs. That's something that I've kind of gotten rid of just a little bit because if someone is screaming, “Ah, waterbug!” I will kill the water bug and protect them.
Number seven. Volcanoes.
Number eight. Fear of being forgotten.
Number nine. Fear of being alone. You know, I lost my mother a couple years ago, and I've definitely experienced some loneliness with not having her around. I remember telling my dad, I said, you know, I said, “Dad, you're lonely right now. But, like, we have to figure out how to be alone.” When I'm, like, left with my thoughts, I start to think about things… these thoughts creep into my head. I had a sister named Joanna. She passed away when she was maybe two or three. And when I was, maybe, I don't know, maybe I was five or six. I remember, I remember vividly, when Joanna died, I laughed. I remember laughing. I don't know why I laughed. But, when she didn't come home the next day, or the next day, the next... it was, like, an eye opening experience for me. Like, whoa. Like, this is real. Death is real. If I could have slept in my parent’s room every night, I would have. But I eventually, you know, stopped having nightmares and, you know, I got better.
Number ten. Change. I don't like change. I think that's what I have, yeah.
My name is Jared Marcelle and these are 10 things that scare me.