When I was in sixth grade 5 years ago I remember a fellow student of mine who told me that he watched a show about the 2012 Mayan apocalypse. He told me that a giant volcano is going to erupt and end the world. I later watched the show he was talking about and I remember being so terrified. The show explained how the Mayan calendar ends on 2012 and therefore the world goes with it. But the show also brought hope that if we collected the 13 crystal skulls and brought them to some temple, we would all be saved. This left me in fear for months. I was a kid who wasn't able to to think critically. How was I supposed to cope?
I remember having bouts of fear which would vary from crippling fear to slight worries and everything in between. I remember seeing tabloids in supermarkets which spoke of psychics predicting that the world is going to end soon. I even remember watching terminator 2 with my friends and upon viewing the sun destroying the world in the film (At least I think that's what happens lol) my friend says "isn't the world supposed to blow up on 2012". This sent me in one of the worst bouts of fear I've ever had, it was hard to even look at my family in fear that they would die.
Sometime after that after various bouts of fear I finally started to do some research on this issue. And it just so happens that I found this site. I read pretty much the entire site, came to it daily at one point. My fears drastically decreased. The only remaining fears I had were these hypothetical "what if the world ends anyway" scenarios (completely ridiculous I know, but it's hard to calm down the young mind when it is threatened with destruction on a planetary scale).
I came to realize why I didn't do any research on this subject beforehand. It was because I was afraid of my fears being validated. I was afraid that I would find actual scientists that would say the world was going to end.
And now that 2012 has came to past the only thing that has ended is the belief of a 2012 apocalypse. And I thought now would be the time to properly thank all of you wonderful people for allowing me to let go of these fears. You gave me my peace of mind back. You also taught me a lot about the world we live in. You also taught me that most of the people who believe in doomsday predictions are complete morons who are always wrong. I can't thank you enough.
I wish all of you administrators a Happy New Year. I hope 2013 is good to you all! :)
Keep squashing doomsday rumors for me okay! :)