Face Your Fear: Touching a Snake

Have you ever come face to face with one of the most feared creatures on earth? I did — and it happened right in my own backyard.

One day I was just outside when I suddenly spotted a snake. My heart was pounding, my hands were shaking, and every part of me wanted to run. I was absolutely terrified. But instead of running away, I made a decision that would change the way I think about fear forever — I reached out and touched it.

In this Instructable I'm going to share exactly how I faced my fear, what it felt like, and how YOU can face your fears too. Because if a scared 12 year old can touch a snake in his backyard — you can do anything

A brave mind — or at least a mind that's willing to try • Courage — even just a tiny little bit .Shoes — always wear closed toe shoes around snakes! A phone or camera — to take photos and document your fear! A trusted adult nearby — my dad was right there with me the whole time . A snake — hopefully one that shows up in your backyard like mine did!

Have you ever come face to face with one of the most feared creatures on earth? I did — and it happened right in my own backyard.

One day I was just outside when I suddenly spotted a snake. My heart was pounding, my hands were shaking, and every part of me wanted to run. I was absolutely terrified. But instead of running away, I made a decision that would change the way I think about fear forever — I reached out and touched it.

In this Instructable I'm going to share exactly how I faced my fear, what it felt like, and how YOU can face your fears too.

Okay I'll be completely honest — I did NOT want to touch that snake. Like at all. Every single part of my brain was screaming at me to just go back inside and pretend I never saw it. It was right there, moving, alive, and absolutely terrifying.

I was literally about to walk away. But then suddenly — it hit me. The contest. The Instructables Face Your Fear contest was sitting in the back of my mind and I remembered that I had entered it. I needed something real, something actually scary, something that would prove I genuinely faced a fear.

And there it was. My fear. Right in front of me in my own backyard.

I thought about the contest, I thought about winning, and I thought — okay. Okay. I can do this. This is my moment. If I just walk away right now I have nothing. No story, no project, no contest entry. Just a memory of running away from a snake in my backyard.

So I stayed. Terrified, shaking, with my mom still yelling from inside the house — I stayed. And I decided to face my fear for real

This was it. The moment of truth. My dad was right beside me and my mom was still yelling from inside the house. I took a deep breath, crouched down slowly, and put my full hand right on the snake.

I was expecting it to feel slimy and disgusting. I was expecting to scream and run. But the second my hand touched it — I was shocked. It was cold. That's the first thing I noticed. Just cold. Like touching a smooth rock that had been sitting in the shade.

Not slimy at all. Not what I expected. My whole life I had been terrified of something that just felt cold.

My dad was watching with a huge smile on his face. My mom was STILL yelling from inside. And I was just there with my hand on a snake, completely amazed that I actually did it.

That one moment changed everything. I faced my fear. For real