Playing it safe is always the easiest way to go, but is it the best way?
I always thought playing it safe was the way to slide under the radar into a relatively average life. I was so wrong.
It wasn’t until I got to college that I understood the only way to truly live a full life is to take some risks and leave your comfort zone. Now, I’m not saying to take dangerous risks but, simply, do something that makes you slightly uncomfortable. For instance, I always argued about the way things were done around me but I was never confident enough to actually ignite change. When I got to college, I realized two things: 1. Yes, it takes one person to want to change something, but you need a group, and 2. Other people want the same things you want, you just have to find them.
Going outside of the “norm” to find these groups was way outside of my comfort zone. I joined one community service program, but soon realized that I could join another, and then another, and then that landed me in Student Government. In the latter role, though I was fighting for small changes, they were still changes. It was through these groups I was able to grow from an individual with ideas to a more innovative person.
After going to college for two years, it came time to start interviewing for internships. Now, as a twenty-year-old girl whose only job ever was camp counseling, you could say the corporate world was slightly intimidating. My first interview took place in a conference room bigger than my dorm room, with people who dressed the corporate part. Just answering my name was stressful. But out of six candidates, I got the job and. throughout the summer, I worked with employees who were once intimidating and now are great friends.
I began writing this year, first in a small newsletter that only went out to people inside the organization and my name wasn’t even on the piece. Then for Fairfield HamletHub. This was the biggest leap I’ve ever taken. When my first article was published, my parents were so excited. I didn’t want them -- or anyone for that matter -- to read it because I was nervous of what they might think. This is when I started to realize what “leaving your comfort zone” actually means.
Leaving your comfort zone starts with yourself. Once you are able to achieve one step, you’ll be able to attain another and then another. There are infinite levels outside of everyone’s comfort zone. But here is the biggest reminder of it all: it doesn’t matter what people think. YOU are growing as a person inside and out because YOU want to, not because anyone else wants you too. And when you finally realize that, many more steps will be ready for you to climb.
Editor's Note: Danielle Rella is a college student in Fairfield, CT and regular contributor to Fairfield HamletHub. And she has certainly prospered stepping outside her comfort zone, blossoming into a wonderful, thoughtful writer.