When people ask me what my greatest fear is, I lie. I tell them about my fear of snakes. I say I have nightmares of being stuck in Fear Factor, lying for a full minute in a pit filled with writhing serpents, just so I can win $1 million. That fear is real. I have those nightmares. But the truth is, my greatest fear is being lonely. In particular, I fear dying alone.
I fear the presence of loneliness. The way it feels. What it may signal to people about who I am. Whether or not it leaves traces of itself on me for people to see. Whether or not people view me as the lonely girl. How sometimes it seems to yawn across rooms filled with people. How it has the ability to take up all the space, even with the best of company.
Read more at:
https://thewalrus.ca/the-science-of-loneliness/
