CHANGING SCHOOLS; U of Richmond/Stepping out of Comfort Zone

Please let me know what you think of this essay. I've taken out the town names for privacy. Thanks!

Tell us about an experience in which you left your comfort zone. How did this experience change you?

Stepping out of my comfort zone is something that I have always had trouble with. Sticking with what I was already accustomed to and had already proven myself to be good at in the past was how I went about making decisions. Looking back, I realize that because of this I missed out on opportunities that could have led to new and improved aspects of life. Now, I have been changing the way I think about approaching new challenges and tasks and am more willing to put myself out there in order to to take chance to have success, even if the success is not guaranteed. For example, this year I have been taking harder classes in school and applying myself more in new sports in order to get better, at the risk of failing, where otherwise I would have accepted where I was without pushing.

Although this was a long time ago, I have a vivid memory of an instance of being in an unfamiliar situation when I changed from DDD public schools to the BBB schools. My parents worked in a different school district and decided to switch us to that district because they felt there were more opportunities. All of my friends that I had been with since kindergarten and felt comfortable with were in DDD and I had gone to school there for my entire life, when unexpectedly my parents had decided to rip me from them and switch me and my siblings into a new school with new teachers and new kids. On the first day I remember walking into the classroom and everyone was sitting down, talking to their friends about their summers and how excited they were to see each other again. I tried to slide into my seat and sit down quietly , but when my teacher saw me come into the room she called me to the front of the room. I was introduced to the class, my face turning bright red as she told them my name and explained that I was from DDD and that it was my first year in BBB schools. I smiled at my table mates, but didn't have anything to add to their inside jokes and stories of past years. Although DDD and BBB are geographically close, demographically they are very different. They told stories about their family trips to foreign countries and cruises, when I had never left the country. Everyone in DDD had played football and hockey, everyone in BBB played soccer and basketball. My first impression was the feeling that I did not fit in. After a few classes came lunch and recess, which made me nervous. I did not know what would I do when everyone went to hang out with their group of friends and I was left by myself. So when the time came for recess, I walked out to the playground and expected to spend the time meandering around by myself. I saw a group of kids from my class playing football on a field behind the school, but was hesitant to go join in as they had already started and might not welcome the new kid intruding on their game between friends. Typically, I would not be the one to walk up to a group of people I had never met before and strike up a conversation. However, I realized that if I was going to make any friends at this new school I would have to step out of my comfort zone and attempt to befriend them. As nervous as I was, I walked over to the field and asked to join their game. I was relieved when they said yes and was enjoying myself almost immediately. By the end of the game, we were all laughing and joking around and I had made my first friends at a new school.

Putting myself in new situations that I am unsure of is something that I am uncomfortable with. When I don't know what the outcome I tend to shy away and stay with I know works. More and more I am realizing that living like this only leads to missed opportunities. In order to accomplish new milestones, stepping out of the comfort zone is necessary and although it make me nervous to do so, the prospect of success outweighs the risk of trying and failing.