I’ve always been a person who relied heavily on comfort. I cherished consistency and familiarity, being immune to my environment and not undergoing any surprises. I am one of the few who actually enjoyed high school - I liked being at the same place at the same time as all of my friends every single day. It became a habit walking to the same classes with the teachers I have known for the past four years of my life. I enjoyed goofing off in the hallways and laughing at inside jokes while sitting with my friends at the same lunch table. I was in a place where I knew everybody and everybody knew me. In high school, I never felt more comfortable.
Whenever I was placed in a position to do something outside of my comfort zone, I was always one who would rather flight the situation than fight it. Whether it was standing in front of the class for a presentation, reciting a speech in front of an auditorium filled with people, or even as simple as playing a specific game in gym class that I just hated - I always found that hiding my discomfort was so much better than overcoming it. It was easier for me to not do something by simply stating that “I just don’t want to” instead of openly announcing my insecurities.
It wasn’t until the summer after my high school graduation and before my freshman year of college that I not only overcame my fear of leaving my comfort zone, but that I found myself opening up the door and walking outside willingly. Instead of making plans for the day, I would just hop in my car and go wherever the road took me. Where I used to find myself just admiring nature-made waterfalls, I then found myself spontaneously jumping in (the majority of the time fully clothed). I used to write personal pieces for myself to keep but now I share my voice and my words by writing articles like this one for everybody to see.
I wish there was a way to reach out to the version of myself from one year ago, so I could just tell her to chill out. Life is crazy and not everything goes to plan. The only thing that will happen by stepping out of your comfort zone is expanding your comfort zone. The more things you experience, the more comfortable you will be with engaging yourself in them the next time the opportunity comes around. I sheltered myself for years due to fear of rejection and humiliation, and the only thing that resulted from it was the missed chances to see the world and what it has to offer me. By getting lost in adventure, I found myself and now I view everyday that goes by as a new day to better the person that I am.
I guess my overall advice is this: if you continue to hide from the world, the world will never know who you are. Everybody wants to be somebody and the only way to get there is if you put yourself there. Your family, friends, hometown, high school - everything that comes together to make up your comfort zone - will always be there for you to turn back to for guidance and support. But one day you need to be able to discover the person that you are when you don’t have all of those things close access to you. You are not losing anything by expanding your personal horizon, and you can only gain new things from it. Somebody once told me that it only takes a few seconds of insane bravery to do something you have never done before. Be brave.
