My comfort zone has always been my happy place. Nothing bad has ever happened there, but when I think about it, nothing amazing has ever happened there either. All of my most memorable college experiences have been when I decided to take a stand and walk away from what was familiar. As summer comes to an end and my final year as an undergrad begins in just a few weeks, the one reoccurring thought is that I don’t want this year to be like the others. I am determined to completely shed myself of my comfort zone and I encourage everyone to do the same. As they say, “life begins at the end of your comfort zone”, so here are seven ways on which I plan to live this school year comfort zone free and you can too:

1. Remember that you have a voice and that it matters.

You were born with the ability to speak for a reason. It wasn’t so that you could idly sit by and watch as the world keeps turning. If you have an opinion, share it! If you have a thought, tweet it! Took a cute selfie, post it! Who cares what others are going to have to say, the life you have is meant to be lived for you. And you never know, people could actually end up liking what you have to say. I was told that I have a voice, and that my voice is important. It took me some time to finally realize that this is true and it was probably the best advice that I’ve ever received. So say the first thing that comes to mind and never let anyone or anything keep you from speaking up.

2. Take more risks.

My favorite quote has to be “bad life choices make great stories”. Now this doesn’t mean go off and do something that will land you in jail, but go and do something unexpected and just a little bit scary. We all have that one thing on our college bucket list that we haven’t checked off yet, and honestly, what are we waiting for, a sign that it’s okay? Well if so, this is it! These four years are meant to be filled with mistakes; that will one day turn into stories that we can’t get through without laughing. So do yourself a favor and just say yes the next time you’re asked to do something, I guarantee it will be one of the best adventures that you have.

3. Apply for something you don’t think you’ll get.

So there’s this amazing internship available but you don’t have exactly what they’re looking for on your resume or this cool job opportunity but you don’t really have the qualifications they want. You thought of applying but then you talked yourself out of it. Why bother right? Well wrong! Life is full of surprises and unless you try you’ll never know. I applied to write for The Odyssey and truth be told I didn’t think I would get it, but look, now you’re here reading my article. So don’t count yourself out before you even give it a try. You could have that one skill none of the other applicants had which made you stand out. You could be tossing away an amazing opportunity that could set you up for the rest of your life. Self-doubt is the number one reason why comfort zones were created, to protect us from rejection. If you don’t try though, you’ll always wonder what if. And I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of asking myself that question.

4. Make a new friend.

You hear that class rosters are up online, so you go to check. You need to know who is in your classes and pray that you at least know one person in each. You’re checking your classes and so far so good, but then you get to one where you question if any of the kids’ names that are listed even go to your school. The truth, they all do, you just don’t know any of them. Who are you going to ask for help when you’re scrambling to understand what’s going on, or team up with to study for the midterm, or worse of all have to work with if there’s a group project. Usually this would send me into a panic, but for this year it is the perfect opportunity to make a new friend. I’m going to try and hide the fact that I have a perpetual sad face and smile. I’m going to not focus on being awkward but on the fact that I can be kind of funny and start a conversation. The person I talk to could end up being one of my best friends and all it took to find them was simply putting in the effort.

5. Sign up.

You know all those events that happen every semester where people get up on stage and dance and sing and whatnot? Yeah, sign up for one of those! Write your name down with some friends, make up some routine, practice the routine, and the night of the event show your school what you’re made of. If you need support from friends in the audience, get it. If you need a little liquid courage to get you motivated, drink some. Do whatever you have to do, but don’t chicken out. If you’re like me, the thought of potentially embarrassing yourself in front of all your peers does not sound like a good way to spend an evening. But trust me, it’s worth it. You’ll get off that stage and feel such a sense of accomplishment, you actually did something that is deemed in your mind as complete insanity and the world didn’t end. Memories like this are ones that stick around forever; so sign up, make sure someone’s recording it for you, and enjoy.

6. Take a random class.

I’ve been in college for three years, have had two different majors, and have taken countless courses that all applied to one major or the other. One thing that I have not done is taken a course that is completely out of my realm and can only provide me with the joy of taking it. This semester I have signed up for sign language. What do I know about sign language? Practically nothing. Why am I taking it? Because I’ve always wanted to learn. To get out of your comfort zone, sometimes you just have to go for it. Do something people didn’t see coming, that you yourself didn’t see coming. Taking a random class is the easiest way to see what other interest you may have. Ask yourself three questions; will it put you out of your element? Will you be able to learn something? Do you think there’s a possibility you’ll enjoy it? If the answer is yes for all three, then do it. Taking one class off the beat and path of my degree audit won’t kill me. In fact, it could open me up to a whole new world I never knew existed.

7. Believe.

The last, and in my opinion, the most important thing that will help you stay out of your comfort zone is believing in yourself. You can talk about all the things that you want to do until you’re blue in the face, but none of that matters if you don’t believe in yourself. When you believe that you can actually learn to put your fears behind you, then your actions will start to show that. You can’t be all talk. Of course it’s scary, especially if you’ve lived your whole life behind the scenes. But if you do it one step at a time and know you have a good support system behind you, it can happen. Comfort zones were not meant to be lived in. So tell yourself that you can live outside the safety bubble you created for yourself and prepare to have the amazing year that you deserve.