Sharks!

I simultaneously love sharks (though not as much as unicorns) and am absolutely terrified by them. At one point in my life I thought I wanted to be a marine biologist and I wanted to specialize in sharks. Then I realized I lived in Indiana and that was probably unrealistic. Oh well. But I can still pretty much watch any show about sharks and be entertained for hours.

On the other hand, I am absolutely terrified of getting attacked by a shark. I blame JAWS. I watched Jaws at a young age and it has pretty much scarred me for life. Way to go DAD (he always let me watch inappropriate-for-my-age shows). Life in sunny California was never the same. For months after seeing Jaws I wouldn't even go into the water past my ankles. I was sure that Jaws was just ready to attack me and chew me up into a million bloody pieces. I've since moved past the ankle deep waters again but I am still 99.9% sure that I am going to be attacked by a shark every time I'm in the ocean. 

I shared this a month or so ago on Facebook but I also have an irrational fear of being attacked by a shark while swimming alone in pools. I KNOW IT MAKES NO SENSE. But still? Totally freak myself out when swimming alone. I just worry that they will somehow figure out how to navigate the water/sewer system and will be hiding in the drains waiting to pop out and chomp me to death while I casually swim laps. Yes, I know that sharks can't live in chlorine and that there is not a nice neat system of pipes that go from ocean to LA Fitness pool and that the sharks I am imagining are much larger than the drains in the pool. That's why it's called irrational. And I admit that it's dumb. And I try really hard not to get scared but it still happens. C'est la vie.