Many people figure out who they think they are and stay within that domain, comfortable, but not growing. I believe that this is the most dangerous thing a person can do to themselves and the world. We only have so long on this planet, and it is vital that we actually use it! If you stay safe, you will never know what you could become or what you could bring to the world. You will stay close-minded to the world that others live in.
I have always been an academic person. I never really cared for sports or video games. My enjoyment when I was young was reading and studying. And I still do that, but I have been lucky enough to be exposed to so much more. Last year, I learned how to swing dance, which I continue to learn when there is time. I am now learning how to longboard, which is exhilarating and terrifying. I have learned the basics of jujitsu, and a few parts of judo. I have lived outside of my own head. And though I may not be an expert in any of these things, I was exposed to a world that I spent most of my life dismissing.
Life is not worth much if you stay safe. You will not get hurt very often, and I suppose that’s why people do it. I never played sports, because I knew that I wasn’t good at sports and didn’t want to feel like an idiot. Try it anyway. If you’re in college, you are in the best possible time of your life to do this. You are surrounded by so many people with so many unique interests and talents. There are opportunities to take classes that you never would otherwise. Take them! Take philosophy classes with your engineering courses. Take an astronomy course with your English major. Look at the world that you don’t live in, and open yourself up to the fact that it is not anything less than what you are used to.
You will never know what you have missed out on if you don’t try. And you may be okay with that. But you’ll never know when that new thing could have enriched your life. Maybe you were meant to be a singer who never tried out their voice. Maybe you could be the top physicist in the world. You don’t know. And you can either accept where you are as all you can be, or you can choose to explore other possibilities, other destinies. Maybe you were right the first time. But maybe not, and I’d much rather have tried fifty things that didn’t work than try out none and have missed out on reaching my true potential.
Try something. Look to your friends, and see what they are doing. Ask if you can join in. Find something you’ve always been mildly interested in: learn about it. Take a chance! I promise you, it’s worth it.
