Whether you’ve heard it from your parents, you’ve seen the Barney episode dedicated to it, or you’ve read it off that glossy rainbow poster your teacher had purchased and hung on the corkboard, I would bet that you have heard one of the following sayings before:
"It's what's on the inside that counts."
"If you fall off a horse, get right back on!"
"Shoot for the moon! At least then, you'll land amongst the stars."
"Be yourself because everyone else is already taken."
Sayings like these are so overused that they have become the verbal equivalent of songs feat. Nicki Minaj. While these quotes all hold consistently relevant advice, I can’t say that any of them have substantially contributed to my outlook on my ever-changing life as a 20-year-old. Except for one, and that is:
“Life begins where your comfort zone ends.”
I know, I know; CRINNNGGGEEE. That saying sounds so cheesy that it could turn anyone lactose-intolerant! But this rhyme is Nicki Minaj-free and it’s safe to look past the surface and actually apply the lyrics to your life on this one.
Let me start explaining the importance of this saying by giving you my relatable story in a nutshell:
- Growing up I was comfortable in my own skin
- In middle school, I became so comfortable that I was awkward beyond words
- In high-school wanting to change, I became so self-conscious that I rarely ever spoke
- Come senior year, I dreadfully regretted that I didn’t share who I was with all my classmates
- During my collegiate career, this saying was re-introduced to me by my friend Piper (if you’re reading this, hey girl!) and I have taken my college experience BY STORM.
Prior to adopting this way of life, I knew that my comfort zone was in the back of the room, on my cell-phone, absent from any group conversation. I was so far in that routine of existing in only small ways, that just me speaking out once in a large group was a drastic change.
And after finding my lost voice, I have: Been Risk Chairman for my Sorority, was nominated by them to run in the Miss K-State Pageant, was President of Phi Eta Sigma, and currently, I’ve busted my comfort zone outside of the U.S. and am studying abroad at the University of Liverpool! All of which that girl sitting at the back of the room would never have the chance to experience.
Allow me to use that word again; EXPERIENCE. That’s what life is!
The second I pushed myself outside of my comfortable boundary, I was quick to learn that it is only in vulnerability do you find your true self. Not only this, but it seemed to me as if people (job interviewers, acquaintances, even men!) were more interested in me when I was making myself vulnerable than they were when I was in my comfort zone.
Everyone has a comfort zone. Maybe you are already out-spoken, but you’re afraid to ask that person out on a date, to expand your group of friends, apply for that job, etc. Whatever it is! If you don’t try it, you aren’t experiencing anything; and in turn, you aren’t LIVING.
Yes, it’s easier to sit in the back of the room; and of course, that first step is extremely difficult and scary. But in the worst case, any experience is better than no experience.
In short, “life begins where your comfort zone ends,” is a cheesy quote on its surface, but it is the Starship of them all; and one that is definitely worth living by.
