If we aren’t scared, we aren’t living life to the fullest. I’m sure you’ve seen that sentence somewhere along your “Inspirational Quotes” board on Pinterest or, perhaps, you’ve heard that sentence multiple times but it makes absolutely no sense to you. 

Life is all about overcoming challenges, in fact, it’s how we grow as people. A lot of the time, the challenges we face instill fear. Therefore, if we aren’t scared in some way, we aren’t challenging ourselves enough, and we aren’t growing as much as we can as people. Whether you are afraid of spiders, sharks, needles, seeing your ex boyfriend on campus, applying to a school within your college, OChem, traveling/studying abroad, etc., facing those fears is important for your personal and individual growth. I’m not saying to do a cannonball into the ocean and swim backstroke with the Great White Sharks; I’m suggesting that you make an effort to take on the fears that you know you will have to face sooner or later.

For example, I am scared of writing for The Odyssey. Makes sense to say as Editor in Chief, right? Let me explain. First off, Greek life is highly looked down upon at the University of Minnesota. Not only am I involved in Greek life by being in a sorority, but I’m also highly contributing to it by writing for and being Editor in Chief of The Odyssey. This puts me under a spotlight that makes it very easy for others to criticize me, my writing, The Odyssey itself, and the Greek Community. 

Yes, writing an article every week filled with my thoughts, ideas, and time, and releasing it for the nation to see is terrifying. One reason is because I am such a perfectionist, and sending an almost-perfect story off to press is unacceptable to me. Another reason is that I am afraid of the criticism my writing could receive. In the past, I've received ugly text messages and hate mail because of my writing. No joke — someone actually typed up an anonymous letter and mailed it to my house without a return address — who does that?!?! 

Anyway, after writing article after article, I’ve come to grips with these fears and have created mental changes to overcome them. For example, I’ve learned to embrace the statement “nobody’s perfect” and apply it to other things as well. “Nothing’s perfect!” I can only fix so many phrases and sentences, add so many commas, and change the headline so many times. Eventually, a piece of writing will have to be perfect because it’ll have to be submitted. As far as my fear of criticism has come, I’ve learned to welcome it and learn from it. There are times when criticism can really hurt your feelings, but it’s at that point where you decide if you want to ignore it or read into it and let it make you a better writer.