Emmanuella Acquah

For as long as I can remember, I have always had an irrational fear of germs. Pushing elevator buttons, opening doors, or even turning on a light switch all felt like dirty tasks to me. Every time I use any commonly touched item I always have to immediately clean my hands after to be at peace. Keeping a bottle of hand sanitizer on me at all times is a must have item. It’s even become one of the items I could not live without. This fear of mine has followed me all these years to where it can almost be seen as a problem to others.

Touching other people's hands for a simple handshake or high five is a lot for me to take in. In my mind, everyone has bad germs to where if they touch me or any of my things they are now dirty. It bothers me the most when I’ve just sanitized or cleaned something off, then someone comes and touches it. Even if their hands may be “clean.” To avoid touching dirty items I would often use my foot instead of my hand, although it may seem very ridiculous.

My bed is one of the items I NEVER play about when it comes to germs. I refuse to allow outside clothes or anything that has touched the floor be placed anywhere I sleep. This also goes for others who are inside my room. When my family (my mom especially) has just come from outside and comes into the room expecting somewhere to sit, my bed is not an option. If I can’t allow myself to get in bed with outside clothes, that means no one can either. Additionally, I refuse to get in bed without clean socks. After walking around the house barefoot, my raw feet are not allowed to touch my sheets. This also means that if I wore socks that have been on the ground, they cannot touch my bed. Unfortunately, this odd phobia of mine may follow me to my grave.