BEDA Day 16: Chapter 15-Thunderstorms

Today I actually have something to talk about!! So it is no longer doing anything outside but earlier tonight it was. Tonight there was a Thunderstorm. A Thunderstorm with rain, lightning, and some thunder. *shudders*

Now I hate thunderstorms. I really do. I don't know why either but I do. I feel like such a little kid being frightened of thunderstorms. Even though me being the science person I am and knowing what causes lightning and thunder, I'm still scared of them. I really don't like lightning or thunder. It's not so bad when it's during the day. But when the thunderstorm is at night, it's a lot worse. I think it's because the night itself is a little creepy already being that it's quiet and then there's the lighting flashes briefly lighting up the sky then it's dark again. It just makes it seem spooky.

I also hate the fact that Thunderstorms are even more scary now that I'm living in Oklahoma. Severe Thunderstorms here can lead to Tornado Watches or sometimes even Tornado Warnings. Being from a basin town completely surrounded by mountains in New Mexico, I didn't have this problem. Now, I do and it terrifies me even more. Again, even knowing the science behind Tornadoes doesn't make it any less frightening.

Maybe it's the fact that Severe Storms can cause Tornadoes that I don't like them. Maybe it's also because sometimes the thunder sound is really loud and shakes the walls. I don't know.

I know that I'm not the only one who is frightened by storms yet even though I'm not, I still tend to feel silly. Whenever there is a storm, I get so worried and worked up. If I'm awake at night when the storm begins, then I can't seem to fall asleep until I know it's over or it calms down. If it's during the day, I tend to just stay inside, nervous and feeling shakey. Then when it's over, I feel exhausted because I worked myself up. It's crazy I know.

Some people like thunderstorms and I'm not sure I understand why. I sometimes think those people are crazy but then I'm sure they can say the same thing about me.

I generally tend to not be as nervous when I'm around family or other people. I guess it's just because I feel safer with others. That's another problem now that I'm here at college. I live by myself in an apartment. Yes, I have neighbors but I don't really talk to them. It's not because I don't want to either. We're just all so busy that I don't really see them. But anyway, I don't like being alone during storms.

I also generally don't like to read mystery stories during thunderstorms. Although, sometimes I do for some odd reason. I guess the Thunderstorm just adds to the whole feeling of the mystery. It's the same with movies. Something about watching certain movies during thunderstorms can also make me more scared of them.

I also think the clouds look very scary during thunderstorms. They are just thick and gray and just overall look scary and menacing. Plus it usually gets darker and grayer when it's stormy out.

Another thing I really hate about Thunderstorms is that sometimes they can cause power outages. Another thing I really don't like is sudden darkness. One minute there is light and then poof it's gone. That tends to make me nervous too. Once I was at work at the public library, when the power went out. It freaked me out!! I was in the children's section putting away books when suddenly it went out! It got really dark in the library and the alarms started going out. Being that a library is generally quiet, this didn't help much. Once we found flashlights and our emergency lights had come on, I started feeling a little better. Now that I think about it, I guess you could also say that I'm a bit afraid of the dark too. Perhaps I watch too many shows like CSI. Ha!

I've had people tell me that I shouldn't be frightened of storms but I still can't help it. Is it weird to be this frightened of Thunderstorms? You know how tragic things that happened to you as a child could become fears for you later on or something like that (trust me I have some fears like that too)? Well, that doesn't seem the cause for me being scared of thunderstorms. I talked to my mom and she said that I've always been frightened of thunderstorms. Both me and my brother she said were frightened of storms when we were little (and actually I think we both still are to some extent).

I'm sure there could be analysis and evaluation done that would pinpoint the cause of my fear. Maybe since my older brother was frightened of storms I became frightened of them too? I guarentee some psychologist could have fun analyzing me and my fears. I'm sure I'd be an interesting case for them.