To the person who is scared to reach out of their comfort zone,

When I was young, I despised the fact that I was always the most quiet in the class. I never spoke up. I refused to share my thoughts. Even the idea of stating my opinion to someone left me with an anxiety-caused bellyache. I let my shyness take over. I felt miserable holding all of my feelings in; however, it was better than facing my fear.

This fear was present from the day I was first born. It stayed with me through preschool, through dance classes, through elementary school, through middle school, through about everything. The feeling of frustration and discomfort became an everyday thing. I felt like "the annoying person who wouldn't talk" or like "the weird kid who talked to no one."

Everyone around me was so sociable. They would play sports or play instruments. I was very lucky to have quite a few friends throughout all of these years, but I never felt good enough compared to them. They all had their "thing." And here I was, too shy to do anything out of my comfort zone.

The summer going into high school, I didn't really think much about overcoming my fear. I had, honestly, accepted it. I was okay with dealing with it because I was too scared to face it. I dealt with the negative feelings everyday and genuinely thought I would have to deal with it for the rest of my life. My shyness came with the fear to take risks. I would never try anything new because of my fear. But during my 8th grade year, I took what was a leap for me: I signed up to take a Communications class for my high school freshman year.

The first day of freshman year, I was more than happy to go to my Communications class. It would be my second class of the day and I was so excited, yet hesitant. I have always had an interest in writing, but I had never really pursued it in any way. Of course, I was quiet and shy, as always, when entering the class.

Fast forward a few weeks, I began writing for this Communications class. I wrote and wrote and wrote. I began to write outside of class. I would type things up just in the Notes on my phone. I would write small paragraphs on random pieces of paper in random notebooks that no one would ever see. I was finally able to express my thoughts. I finally found a way of releasing my feelings.

I had finally found my thing: writing.

The more I wrote, the more I blossomed. My fear lessened each and everyday. I became more comfortable in my own skin. My hands no longer became excessively sweaty when put in social situations. I began to stand up for myself. I began to state my opinion; and even better yet, I began to argue my opinion.

Taking a risk was one of the best decisions of my life. Without reaching out of my comfort zone and taking that class, I would still have my crippling fear that affected every single day of my life.

I'm not going to lie, my fear comes creeping back every so often. However, I have realized that facing my fear helps me. I have realized that I am SO much more happier not letting my fear control me.

So, to the person who is scared to reach out of their comfort zone, take a risk. Just one. Take baby steps, even. It may be scary at first and you may feel hesitant, but trust me, it'll help. Letting your fear control you will, more than likely, not get you where you want to be in life. Talk yourself into taking that leap and just do it. You won't regret it.