As a freshman in college, I found myself struggling for the first time in a history class: Western Civilization. As a history major, I felt as though I should breeze through this 100-level course without a second thought. When I realized that I had to actually read the text book and that the lectures in class were not a summary of the reading, I knew I was in trouble. I immediately started questioning my entire life: My major choice, my intelligence, even my future. Somehow, after failing 2 quizzes and a test, I'd made this genius deduction: If I fail this class, then I'll fail all my history classes, then I'll drop out of college, then I'll be homeless and living on the side of the road. I was like a walking Directv commercial a decade before they came out: "Don't end up uneducated and homeless, get Directv"... you get the idea.
Now, technically, was it possible that I fail every class and drop out of college? Yes, that was most definitely possible... but was it likely? At all? No! It only became more likely the more I thought about it. In reality, I needed to work harder and adjust to college.
The point I'm trying to make is this: Straits are made more dire with the use of effective, fearful hyperbole.
