The certainty of fear.

...

no idea.

But the thought of admitting to a ticket agent that they did not know what "Firenze" meant was more terrifying than the prospect of being dumped, alone, in a strange city on an unknown continent.

Psychologist David Elkind has come up with what he calls te "Imaginary Audience Theory" to help explain this period of life.

As a result, the adolescent is terrified of doing or saying something thay will attract scorn or criticism.

As people enter middle age, they face the unsettling fact that their lives are hallway over.

They are not longer youngsters,, looking ahead at decades filled with unlimited potential.

In looking back at what they accomplished many people feel unsatisfied.

They may not have achieved the career success they had hoped for.

They fear they do not have time to reach goals that they had once dreamed of.

They become critical of their own aging bodies.

As their parents die and their children grow up and leave home, they feel adrift, no longer certain of their roles in life.

Movies and sitcoms often presents such a crisis in tragicomic style: the middle-aged guy dumps his wife, dyes his hair, buys a sports car, and begins romancing a woman young enough to be his daughter.

Hte middle-aged woman gets liposuction and a facelift and has an affair with a young personal trainer.

Many long-term marriages break up as a result of one or both partners midlife crisis.

However, most midlife crises do not have such dramatic results.

More typically, the midlife crisis is a time of inner exploration, of reconsidering one’s priorities.

Those fears center around the increasiing frailty of the body and the accompanying loss of independence. (senior citizens)

Many elderly people report falling as their greatest fear.

They are not simple concerned with the injury they might suffer.

They worry that a fall might lead to being institutionalized, a step that many elderly people fear deeply.

After a lifetime of independence and,, often, of taking care of others, they dread the idea of being helpless, even a burden to their families.

As a result, many elderly people especially after having suffered a fall or another injury become increasingly reluctant to go out into the world to try new thing and keep up with friends.

Afraid of being hurt, they become hermit-like, staying within the confines of their homes.

Structure of the essay

The author began the very essay introducing her own experience on what she wanted to state. However, she continued the essay narrating the experience of a friend of her and she mentioned a theory of a Psychologist. Also, she quote the Italian poet Dante and Benjamin Franklin.

Vocabulary Words

Dreaded: fear, dread, apprehend, be afraid.

Slimy: slippery, greasy, muddy, mucky, sludgy, wet, sticky.

Limp: soft, flaccid, loose, slack, lax, floppy, drooping, droopy.

Conspicuous: outstanding, protruding, salient, leading.

Scorn: contempt, derision, contemptuousness, disdain, derisiveness, mockery.

Veneer: appearance, look, semblance, seeming, veneer, illusion.

Hasten: accelerate, speed, speed up, expedite, hasten,