“Comfort, the enemy of progress” -P.T. Barnum

Breaking out of your comfort zone is hard. It’s scary and uncomfortable but the greatest growth comes from stepping outside our comfort zones. Think to yourself when you experienced the most personal growth, were you comfortable? Most likely not! My biggest self-growth was last year when I transferred to UMBC at USG. Before transferring, I stayed away from extracurriculars, but all that changed when I transferred to USG. 

Within a week of transferring to USG, I applied to become a Student Ambassador. As a Student Ambassador, I have the opportunity to educate prospective students about the programs at USG as well as share my personal experience as a student. Becoming a student ambassador has allowed me to gain great self-confidence in public speaking and grow in my interpersonal skills. Now as a second-year ambassador, I am a Tour Trainer and a Student Engagement Chair. Stepping into these leadership roles have allowed me to learn new teaching techniques and fun new engagement strategies.

In addition to becoming a student ambassador, I became an active member of the Social Work Student Association (SWSA). In SWSA we engage in community service and educational events. Becoming involved in SWSA allowed me to meet people with similar interests as me and to learn new ways to help my community. Now as Vice President, I have also strengthened my outreach skills.

I have always been insecure about my writing, which is unfortunate for a social work major. When I saw the opportunity to become a student blogger for USG I thought “why not?” and applied. I truly thought I wouldn’t be offered the position because of the insecurities of my writing but sure enough here I am! Blogging has become an incentive for me to enjoy writing!

As exciting as becoming a part of all of this was, it was also scary. I was scared of being rejected or not being good enough. I am so grateful for listening to the little part of me that said I should try. Breaking out of my comfort zone allowed me to grow in so many ways. Once I learned to try new things, I fell in love with it. Now, things that seem scary excite me. Realizing I grew tremendously from trying new things has led me to love breaking out of my comfort zone. “Life begins when you break out of your comfort zone” – Neale Donald Walsch