Recently, I felt like I have been held back and reserved myself of my capabilities. What I mean by this is I feel like I am capable of so much more than what I am doing right now.

My first step to getting out of my comfort zone was writing. Originally when I signed up to start writing for Odyssey, I figured I wouldn’t be a good candidate for the job. Why? I suck at writing. Simple as that. But the more and more I write, I feel like I have a voice and I feel like I belong in this group. The Columbia Odyssey Team has welcomed me with warm arms and even gives out great ideas when you’re stuck. Alexandra, who is Columbia’s Editor in Chief, has made writing for Odyssey so much fun and so much easier than I thought it could have been. She has answered countless questions for me and even when I realized I wouldn’t be able to write a specific weekend, she let it slide and let me write two within a span of one week. Odyssey was my first step at doing something that made me feel happy.

I then headed to Target on a mission. I wanted to find something that would also help my writing capabilities. I found a book called “300 Writing Prompts." It is a book filled with questions like "What is your favorite breakfast to get you up and out the door?" and "Write about the most recent skill you have acquired." So far I have written about 10 pages and I bought it yesterday. This book has also helped me with my writing for Odyssey because I realized what things I like to write about and what makes me happy when writing.

I started reading more. Not just normal books but poetry, to make me feel things I never knew I could feel. My favorite book to date is Milk & Honey by Rupi Kaur. This book made me question so many things while also made me realize many struggles or blessings in my life. I also read Eighteen Years by Madisen Kuhn. This book was intriguing but didn’t make me think as much as Milk & Honey did. Throughout my years Poetry has been a hard thing for me to read or even write. Challenging myself to read poetry and understand it in a way that makes sense to me has been fun. I love the way poetry is different but also can speak the same words as a long novel. It can touch you in a way that is similar to how a character makes you feel. Who knows maybe in the future, I’ll have some poems to share with people.

I have been getting outside more. As a graphic designer, most of my time is behind a computer. I have been staying outside longer, going rollerblading or going biking or simply just walking around. My building has a rooftop on it so occasionally I will go outside and sit up there to do homework or to read instead of sitting inside.

With being outside more, I have realized that I have become more talkative. I started talking to strangers more and trying to make connections with people I don’t know. I have also been trying to compliment people in my life, recently, showing them that someone in their life notices them and cares about them. I have been trying to tell family and friends all the time how much they mean to me and how much I love them.

I dyed my hair. I know this may sound crazy but dying my hair has made me feel more confident. The day I dyed my hair, I got more people telling me how much they love it, how great I look now and even strangers have been complimenting me. With dying my hair, I have also been trying new hairstyles to make subtle changes in my life. I feel more confident when my makeup is done and my hair is done. I feel like I can do a catwalk down every street.

These may seem like simple and subtle changes to anyone but I am a person who hates change. I think this change was for the better and I’m really excited to see what else I can change.