This story was originally published in the first edition of The Lion’s Tale (October 1, 2019).

Change is inevitable. It can be seen in everything, everywhere, all the time. Change is what allows our world to evolve and become better over time. We’ve all been subjected to change throughout our lives but by the masses, it’s mostly seen as a part of life: People have learned to work along with change for the better.

But what about those who live with change as something they want to get rid of? Something that’s constantly lingering over their heads as they try to go on with their daily routines. These people can be seen as having a fear of change.

Fear of change, also known as Metathesiophobia, is a commonality among students. Whether if we’re just nervous and afraid of moving into a new environment, or have a fear of breaking through our daily routines, we’ve all experienced a fear of change in our lives.

However many people don’t take the fear of change lightly. “[Fear of change]… is more instinctive and on an individual level.” Zachary Densberger, a psychology teacher at Oviedo HIgh School stated. “They thrive on consistency. They know what today’s going to bring, what tomorrows going to bring and so on…” Many people who do fear change, mostly fear the consequences of it. Change is natural and everyone experiences change at one point or another.

He said, “Those who fear change tend to think of it as ‘What could go worse?’”

Those with Metathesiophobia seem to like routine. They like to know what’s going to happen next and want control over their future.

When talking to Carmen Longhurst, a Freshman at OHS on what it’s like to fear change, she responded with, “It’s like constantly seeing your different options in front of you and refusing to pick anything but what you’ve already been doing in your life.”

She said, “When change has consistently proven to only make things worse than what they are, you start to ignore those possibilities and stick to your everyday routines.”

But no matter how much we do fear change it is inevitable and will constantly follow us throughout our lives. “If everything just stayed the same, man would’ve never gone out of caves.” Densberger said.

Somebody had to take a risk. Take a risk and try something different.”(Mr. Densberger).

Change is what grows our society in culture, technology and understanding. Change is what brings us to where we are today and where we will be tomorrow. Even though a lot of us do fear change on different levels, it’s something that we are eventually forced to overcome and allow to enter our lives. If you go through change that takes a turn for the worse you should work your way out of it. The only thing that can change your situation is well…change.