Stepping out of my comfort zone

When I was in elementary school, I was a very shy kid who never really spoke up. I could not bring myself to socialize no matter how hard I tried. My teacher would assign me a partner with a classmate and I wouldn’t talk to them because I had no idea who they were.  Every time I spoke in front of a crowd, I stuttered, and my leg never ceased to shake, both of which made me even more nervous. 

Despite my shyness, I had one best friend in first grade. We always talked about video games or television shows like Regular Show while messing around at the playground during recess time. That was the first time I ever really experienced socializing with someone, and I was really happy that I had at least someone to talk to. But he later transferred to another school, which made me feel alone, and my shyness kept me aloof and isolated once more. 

As I grew up, I became more aware of the imperfections of my personality. I hated the fact that I could not bring myself to talk or hang out with other people. Even though I had friends, I still did not talk much. It never really bothered me until I began high school, and I noticed that I was pretty much closed off. 

I knew if I wanted to talk to people, I had to step out of my comfort zone. But it was a difficult process, as I hesitated every time I talked to someone. I was lost; I had no idea what I was supposed to do. I said to myself, “I can’t just be silent forever. I need to be brave to have fun. What am I even nervous of?” All these thoughts came to my head and pushed me to do something that I have never done before: dancing. 

When I tried out for All Male, I was nervous because I interacted with people I’ve never seen before. But once I made it onto the team, I was extremely nervous to talk to my team members. But day by day, as I was dancing together with them, I didn’t feel uneasy anymore because I had fun. I learned that we are all in this together and we would always help each other out whenever we needed it. 

After joining All Male, I began communicating with people more with ease. I realized that, for the majority of my life, I was stuck in my comfort zone, which prevented me from freely interacting with people. I learned that if you don’t take risks, you won’t be able to experience new things and learn more about yourself.