Eleanor Roosevelt famously once said to “do one thing every day that scares you.” I never really understood why she said that. Why would I want to scare myself, and why is this quote popping up so much on my Tumblr dash? The whole premise just sounds uncomfortable, and well, I am a huge fan of comfort. I don’t want to brag, but I’m kind of its number one fan. However, with every day that I am at SUNY Potsdam, and as I continue to (slowly but surely) grow up, and with every opportunity that I somehow find myself stumbling across, I am finally starting to learn why that phrase is so important.

For instance, by the time that this is published, I will have embarked on my first plane trip. I will have been in London for almost a week, a week that I am sure has been nothing but crazy. But as I am writing this, I am packed and ready, about to leave for Massachusetts with one of my best friends to meet up with one of my other best friends, so that the three of us can fly “across the pond” together to the land of Harry Potter and corgis. Like I said before, I dig comfort. There is a reason why I haven’t left Potsdam (for good) yet, and it’s because, like most people, I fear the unknown. I fear what I am not used to, and I shamefully admit that I’m a total creature of habit; I mean, I wear the same five shirts every week. It’s kind of gross, but It doesn’t get more routine than that.

Although I am extremely, extremely excited for this trip, a trip I have been saving for and anticipating since this time last year, I am scared out of my mind. I’m worried and feeling anxious about the little things, like the fact I’m missing a week and a half of a work, and the possibility that I totally packed wrong (which is a super strong possibility), and that people are going to see my passport photo, which is an absolute travesty (I have never been photogenic).

So, yeah, I’m really scared, but I remember that I’m scared of a lot of things, and out of all the things I am afraid of, this is probably one of the best things I could ever be afraid of. Over the past two years, I’ve learned that “scary” experiences allow you to reap the greatest rewards. I’ve also learned that the things that you think you’re afraid of, aren’t really that scary. That’s how I have a job that I love, how I met my freshman year roommate (who, incidentally, is going on the aforementioned trip with me), how said roommate became my best friend, and how I have acquired so many weird anecdotes, like how I ended up backstage at a Whitesnake concert (and how I was consequently escorted out by some mildly annoyed British assistants). All of these moments scared me, yet the culmination of these moments have taught me that taking a chance on something that may seem insane can make for memories of a lifetime. The chances I have taken so far could have gone horribly wrong; some have of course, but most have been amazing. After all, you can’t have rewards without a little risk, and I wouldn’t want to change the good or the bad things that have happened in my life even if I could. There’s a lot that can go wrong in life, and of course, there is also a lot that can go right, but you learn from the wrong, and you revel in the right.

I realize now more than ever that that Roosevelt’s words reign true. College has forced me to take chances and step outside of myself, my comfort zone, in order to embrace strange and exciting opportunities. So, here I am, about to embark on the biggest adventure of my life to date. I am an even mix of afraid and excited, but I know that this experience will teach me more than I could ever hope for and that these moments will be moments I carry with me forever.