Imagination at 24

Imagination, as defined by the all-knowing Dictionary.com, is "the product of imagining; a conception or mental creation, often a baseless or fanciful one." There were some other definitions, but they got a little too intense for me. At 24, I feel like my imagination is just as active as when I was younger- I guess the difference is that I don't sit around and imagine I'm heading up a daycare full of babies that came from the cabbage patch!

At 24, my imagination is most active when I'm worrying. It's pretty impressive actually; today I'm imagining germs. I am sick, and between the tissues and my need to breathe, I imagine there is a cloud of germs around me. In my mind, they kind of look like the dust that comes off of toilet paper when you rip it, but unfortunately my germs stay in the air and lurk around. They attach themselves to everything, which is why when I am sick you will see my lysol all that surrounds me. And in my imagination, the lysol attracts those germs and kills them. Go Lysol! 

I also imagine germs in other places. I absolutely CAN NOT take food into any type of bathroom, and in most instances not even close to an entrance. In high school, when we moved in groups only, we would stop in the bathroom at the end of lunch. If I was still eating the rest of my favorite snack (marshmallow cone), I was forced to bring it. I could imagine in my head, the germs would automatically find my marsh-cone and attach themselves to it. Gross! No thank you for food in bathrooms. 

I hate my imagination most during storms. I am deathly afraid of tornadoes, especially at night when things seem extra threatening. I create a whole tornado scene in my head- what I will grab, how I will alert everyone that it's coming, where I will hide when we get downstairs. I imagine my brother, who doesn't have a basement, grabbing his family and running to the closest house with a basement. If they don't answer, I imagine him breaking down the door or through a window. Completely worth it, good move Eric! 

One last thought: I wondered if maybe I have an over-imagination. Have you ever heard people say that? But when I googled the term, I couldn't find a definition. Maybe whoever came up with the term is just jealous of people who have crazy descriptive imaginations. If I could turn my use of my imagination into a job, I'd be called "The Imaginator." Pretty sweet, huh?!