Topic Tuesday: Fear

“Fear” (By: Maci Hughlett)

When I was a young girl in ballet, one of my biggest fears was falling. Every ballet instructor teaches how one must fall in the beginning in order to get over this fear. You had to allow yourself to fall.

To be honest, I have never been too keen on following directions which has proved helpful – and otherwise – throughout my life. When it came to ballet, I would stop mid-pirouette if I felt even a slight tilt towards the hardwood floors in fear of falling. In my adult life, I have become quite interested in hiking which leads not to a fear of heights, but a fear of falling off of the ginormous cliffs. We all have fears. Maybe not all of us are afraid of the dark, of spiders, or of falling in love, but to an extent – we are all afraid of falling.

When you hit the floor for the first time in ballet, all of your pride goes straight down with you. “Real ballerinas don’t fall,” is what you tell yourself and it is this fire that creates a combination of humbleness and determination. Falling is natural. We all fall sometimes in our own ways – even if that means tripping on the sidewalk or tripping in the recovery process. So why are we so afraid of falling?

Some of the most memorable times in my life have come out of great disaster. When things do not go as planned and yet, they all come together. Letting yourself fall is not easy. Falling feels as if the world is crashing in on itself all because you slipped out of balance. Guess what? The world continues to spin even if you start to tilt.

Advice given to me during a time in my life when perfectionism was the utmost goal was, “Don’t be afraid to fail.” Now while this is good advice that came from an earnest heart, I believe that they got the last word in the phrase off by one simple letter. Do not be afraid to fall and trust that you will be caught because you can always choose to give yourself a second chance.

About the Author

Maci Hughlett is a girl on a mission. She loves Jesus, coffee, books, hiking, and sees everything as an adventure. Maci is studying at Johnson University with a double major in Bible & Theology and Human Services – Counseling. She is up for doing anything in life that will help people see the light and would love to use her testimony for the good of others. Maci is a Tennessee native, growing up in Knoxville and is always making trips up to Nashville to visit family. She has found recovery from a bulimia twice and plans to stand strong against any future temptation to fall into the food trap once more. Family, friends, and her local church have been such a blessing in her life, especially on the road of recovery and she cannot thank them enough. Blessings!