Today is Friday the 13th. I was born on the thirteenth of the month, and occasionally my birthday will land on a Friday, like this year. Everyone seems to get all worked up about the day. I understand why, but it doesn’t really bother me. Don’t get me wrong, I do remember what day it is throughout the day, but after all is said and done, it ends up being a relatively normal day. Nothing bad, or good for that matter, out of the ordinary ever happens just because it’s Friday the 13th.

According to the Livescience Staff’s article on Yahoo News today, the fear of Friday the 13th is called paraskavedekatriaphobia (I’m not even going to try to pronounce this). Even though many may not admit it, lots of people fear this number. Any place where luck is considered important doesn’t even use the number 13. Hospitals don’t use 13 as a room number, tall buildings don’t have a 13th floor, and airports don’t have a 13th terminal. What I find funny is although buildings, hospitals, and airports may number their floors, rooms, and terminals so they skip the number 13, we all know somewhere in the back of our minds that the 14th floor, the 14th hospital room, and the 14th terminal are really the 13th. We try to trick ourselves, and it seems to give people comfort, but does it really change that fact?

How often do we try to trick ourselves in other aspects of our lives? Haven’t we ever tried to trick ourselves into thinking that something was okay because we called it something else, you know, mind over matter. Anyhow, I look at Friday the 13th as a lucky day, just don’t ask me to walk under any ladders or let any black cats cross my path (fortunately I don’t know of any black cats), and better hope that I don’t drop any mirrors! Have a lucky day everyone!!