ROOM 101



In honour of our 101st post here on Frills 'n' Spills, I decided to do a Room 101 theme. Room 101  is a concept introduced in George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. It is a torture chamber based in the Ministry of Love where you are subjected to your worst fears. 



You asked me once, what was in Room 101. I told you that you knew the answer already. Everyone knows it. The thing that is in Room 101 is the worst thing in the world.

— O'Brien



If you haven't already read Nineteen Eighty-Four, I urge you to do so, George Orwell is a fantastic author and his books completely suck you in.  Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four together, have sold more than any other twentieth century author . Also apparently I write like himIt was Natasha who first alerted me to this site which tells you which author you write like. It makes for some interesting results so go and check it out! 

I thought then that Danni and I could share some of our biggest fears and worries. Now, I am a MASSIVE worrier and always have been, look at my baby face :P 

I love my shorts and top combo! What a stylish child I was ;) 
  • Heights- I have been scared of heights for as long as I can remember, I can be OK on tall buildings of structures as long as they feel solid enough, I feel safe. (The edge of a transparent glass pod on the London Eye does not feel safe to me!)
  • Bridges- I HATE bridges, I think it is mainly because they are over a busy road/railway and I am scared about the bridge collapsing whilst I am on it, irrational, yes but most fears are!
  • Water- I don't mean drinking water, but rather rivers/the sea. This may come as a surprise to some people but I think it's because I have never really learnt to swim. I can barely keep myself afloat so water creeps me out
  • Bugs/insects/creepy crawlies- whatever you want to call them they FREAK.ME.OUT. I think this is one of the reasons why I am "allergic" to the great outdoors :P
Can you imagine the creepy crawlies lurking in here?! URG

  • Being alone- let me clarify this a bit! Whilst I enjoy 'me-time' and some peace and quiet to relax, growing up with a big family has meant that there has always been someone around to talk at to. I find it very odd when I am on my own for a prolonged period of time- early onset deafness perhaps?! :P Danni will testify that I have often come into her room so I have someone to distract talk to :) I have got better at talking to people I don't know, though they don't stay strangers for very long ;) 
Oooh gosh I guess now it's my turn! [Danni here for those of you who just got extremely confused :)] My default is set to 'worry' in all honesty. Moreso in the mumsy kind of ''wrap up warm'' kind of way than anxiety. I love to keep everyone happy and it's for this reason that I tend to worry that things aren't perfect. Of course, they rarely are. And why should they be?! Imperfect is beautiful, fun and spontaneous although my head tells me otherwise. My fears are totally random, you'll probably think I've plucked them from obscurity just for want of trying but I promise, these are the things that terrify me!... 

  • Motorways. It has now been 2 years, 10 months and one day since I passed my driving test. It has been 20 years, 7 months and 16 days since I've feared the motorway. Yuh huh. That would be my life. Goodness only knows why; I've never been in an accident, nor have any of my family or friends [thank God, touch wood, gather all lucky totems and kiss them twice] and I've never witnessed anything on the wrong side of risky on the motorway. Something about it though scares me witless. Oh I don't know, it may be the great hunks of metallic machinery hurtling along at ninety miles an hour whilst attempting to swerve around lorries [i.e. even bigger hunks of metallic machinery] and dodge that old lady in a Punto. Just a thought. Whatever it is, I just hate them. I can avoid them for the rest of my life right?
  •  Wind Turbines. I do not know why. All I know is that heavy turning blades are not my friend. 
  • Interviews. Ironically, I had an interview today. It actually went well [although I'm not sure I was flexible enough for them] and for once I managed to take my time and think about my answers. This was a fluke. Usually I will stutter, spit, dribble, sneeze, sweat, shake, and hesitate in all the wrong places. Attractive huh? Interviews just have that ability to crush me, in every sense of the word. As my C.V will show them I've managed GCSE's, A levels, half a degree, part-time work, and volunteering and yet I still haven't mustered a good interview technique. Tips would be greatly appreciated although honestly, unless you can come up with a sneeze preventing, stutter suppressing, employability enhancing drug I reckon I'm with this one for life!

  • Public speaking.   I tend to faint. 
    It's quite embarassing.
    I'd rather not talk about it.
  • Isolation. Where Maria fears loneliness, I fear isolation. Loneliness I can actually cope with. I love being on my own-  I relish in having that time to do exactly what I want, just when I want to. I'm certainly no conversationalist, and although I've got a little better at not looking like a mute, I'm still socially inept in most busy situations. What I do fear though, above all else, is losing the knowledge that someone is at the end of a phone or letter. The thought of having no connections in this world to the people I love, or indeed of having no-one to love full stop scares the hell out of me. Whilst I hate being the centre of attention, I love surrounding myself with people and by this I don't mean for them to be there physically. The very knowledge that they're but a phonecall away is what keeps me going, it's the best motivation around.

So there you go, my fears in a [rather wordy] nutshell. I suppose this has shown that although fear has the power to turn us into shivering [and in my case dribbling, stuttering] wrecks it is, in a weird and wonderful way normal. Embrace your fears, or if your a wimp like me let's do our best to avoid them!



What are your biggest fears? How do you try to overcome them? 

  

P.S. What  would you like to see more of on Frills 'n' Spills? Let us know in the comments below and we can endeavour to do it!



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3 comments

daisychain said...

oh, finally, someone else who loathes bridges!

Maria Fallon said...

I don't know what it is, I just freak out about them! :S

Maria xxx

Unknown said...

I echo a few of Mia's. Mine in no paticular order:
Crabs - well crustations really. Lobsters, crabs. I hate pincers, the way they move. I always have to be out of my depth in the ocean for that reason.
Not being in control of things - I'm 100% control freak!
Being alone - if I am, I eat!
Uncertain about things - I have anxiety attacks if I'm nervous.
Small spaces with lots of people - I am the most impatient person on earth, and I hate shopping when it's busy. I also hate low ceilings, I don't like felling small!
Good article this one - thought provoking! Should do desert island discs - top 8 records, 3 things (which incl. bible and entire works of shakespear and one other thing of your choice)! Love the radio show!