I looked over my shoulder eighteen times in one day. Sometimes I was walking down the street, sitting in class, even laying in my bed. What was I looking for? Why did I keep doing it? The truth was that I was not looking over my shoulder because I was expecting something to be there. Rather, I was hoping to find nothing. Hoping that the silent lurking feeling I felt was a figment of my imagination. This silent feeling follows many Americans around everyday. It brushes against our backs, moves in the still night, breathes heavily when we are alone. This feeling we all dread is fear. Fear of the familiar, the unfamiliar, the known and the unknown. As a country, as a people, as an individual, we are all scared.

This begs the question, What is security? Is security safety or is it fearlessness? Felix Frankfurter once said, “There can be no security where there is fear.” I know, as a person, I am far from fearless. Therefore, because there are many things I fear, I will never be completely secure. There will always be something that scares me. I am afraid of death, some people, bugs, but most of all, I fear the future.

The important thing to realize is that insecurity, fear, is not a bad thing. Many people think that fear makes you weak, that being unsure means the world will fall apart. Fear does some good things too! Without insecurity, success wouldn’t be nearly as sweet. If we know, beyond a doubt, that we can do something, then finally completing it holds no joy. We wouldn’t get butterflies in our stomachs, smiles wouldn’t span our faces from ear to ear, and pride over accomplishment would be nothing more than something the human race used to possess.

Complete security is a human impossibility. H. Stanley Judd said, "The ultimate security is your understanding of reality." Reality is fear, uncertainty, joy and happiness. We face reality everyday in the choices we make and actions we take. So, I suppose that my sense of security changes from day to day, depending on how much of my reality I choose to face.

Life has little security to offer. There are too many variables in life for anyone to predict the outcome of the future. All we can do is be ready for the next curve ball life throws us. Harry Browne summed it up best when he said, "When you know that you're capable of dealing with whatever comes, you have the only security the world has to offer."

I feel safe in my home, with my family, and in the company of my friends. My life is full of people I can trust and rely on. While I cannot predict the actions of other people, I find security in knowing that when I do turn around, there are people who love me in my corner. That security is enough for me

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