I have always wanted to travel. I have lived in the same city since the day I was born and although I love my hometown, I also want to see other parts of the world. Ironically, one of my biggest fears is flying in airplanes. I think a part of this fear stems from the fact that I don’t fly particularly often. However, I also think that this fear is something that will always be lingering in the back of my mind; no matter how often I fly.
As a college student in today’s world, there is a lot of pressure to study abroad for some period of time, whether that is for a semester or a few weeks. After taking Spanish for several years and declaring it one of my majors, I felt like it was time for me to consider going abroad in order to put my Spanish skills to use. I always felt like a semester was too long for me. I dislike flying and I’m not used to being away from home for long periods of time. So, I found a happy medium. This week I am beginning a month-long study abroad program in Segovia, Spain.
While I’m sitting here, flying over the middle of the Atlantic Ocean in the middle of the night, I am terrified but also extremely proud of myself. I nearly allowed a fear of mine to keep me from fulfilling my dreams of traveling, but I am so glad that I didn’t. Although I am not sure how my program will turn out or what I will get out of this experience, I have already grown as a person because I faced a fear of mine. Not only am I flying, but I am flying halfway across the world without my family. I am sitting next to a complete stranger and managing to stay calm even though I am not even halfway through this flight.
I think more often than not we let our fears get the best of us. Personally, I avoid things all the time because I am afraid. However, I am realizing that we have to face these fears in order to grow. It’s easy to tip toe around everything that makes us uneasy, but when we step outside of our comfort zone we are taking full advantage of all that life has to offer.
I imagine in a few years I will have this same feeling of fear and excitement when I am starting my career. I will worry about liking the job or possibly being in a new city. However, I won’t really know if I like the job if I don’t go for it. As I have watched recent graduates from my university get their first major jobs, I have witnessed so much bravery as people go off to new places and truly begin their adult lives. It’s unreasonable to think people aren’t scared when they start something new or tackle one of their fears.
Everyone hopes that his or her wildest dreams will come true. The irony of our dreams coming true is that sometimes we allow our fear to keep us from taking on everything that comes our way. The reality is, we have to go out of our comfort zones in order to achieve our goals. If they were extremely easy to reach, they wouldn’t be goals or dreams. The things that we dream of may seem out of reach, but when we have the opportunity to do them we shouldn’t let fear get the best of us. While achieving our dreams or accomplishing our goals is great, I wonder if it is the feeling of accomplishment we get from facing our fears to reach these goals that really makes every worth it in the end.
