College Admissions Essay: Comfort Zone

For the majority of my life, I had been shy, even though it didn’t seem like it most of the time, I was scared to death when I met new people. I know that it sounds extremely trivial, but I feel that when you first meet someone, you’re ultimately giving them their first impression of yourself and that is a lot of pressure. It seemed almost certain that I would lead a life of being a social wallflower until March 2017, more specifically, March 28th, 2017. This day was and still is important to me because I learned how to be confident, and through my experience, it taught me something that I will hold onto forever. Prior to this day, I was an extremely introverted person and rarely went out of my way to make friends. As a volunteer at day

As the year progressed, I found people who shared common interests as me and people who did not. Regardless, I made myself associate with them and it worked for my benefit. You may never know when you need a favor or just someone to talk to for that matter. Saying hello to a person can change so much which may sound really cheesy but its true! If I had never had the courage to join in on a strangers’ conversation then they would never have become my best friends. I had witnessed the Butterfly Effect. As I grew more comfortable with talking to others, my personality bloomed into something that I am proud of. I was excited to do things that others were not. If there was a spirit day, I would go all out. If it was someone’s birthday, I would try my hardest to get them a gift they would enjoy. If I saw someone going through internal turmoil, I would lend them my ears so that they could release their stress. Once, I was browsing Instagram through boredom and a girl had posted a picture of herself with the caption that said “I have nothing to live for.” I commented on the picture saying that she was gorgeous and she replied with “so what.” That reply hit me

From a shy kitten to a gracious swan, that’s the story of my life. Despite all those complications I faced, I can now easily give public speeches and converse with anyone. Nevertheless, overcoming my social anxiety required a large amount of self-motivation and courage.

You had great difficulty expressing yourself properly, leading to your current predicament: social isolation. You often made a conscious effort to avoid conversation in case your voice refused to respond or you stumble upon your words or if you sounded utterly stupid, but you put the same amount of effort to make sure you could hide your loneliness with plastered smiles and the "I’m fine" lie you repeat endlessly.

I was able to make friends easily by applying my interpersonal skills amongst others. This included joining societies as well as, using my communication skills during my seminar group work discussions, where I demonstrated my teamwork skills by co-operating with others during a shared task. Working with others is a vital skill, as I did not only collaborate with them, but learn from them by listening to their thoughts, as we all had diverse ideas and perspectives. This point leads back to my anxiety of interacting within a new environment, which allowed me to step out of my comfort zone and, associate with people from different backgrounds.

As a little girl I was always the one who would hide behind her father’s leg. At the dinner table I would be quiet so I would never be brought into the conversation. The older I got, the more I came out of my shell. I still could never break free, though. It wasn’t until I became involved in organizations, that I was able to interact with people and take initiative.

Students willing to step outside their comfort zone will be able to handle adversity and change better than others. This is an important aspect for individual growth.  Taking risks, trying new things and facing challenges  will help us in all aspects of life.  Colleges need to equip students with the skills they need to face these challenges.  Graduates need to be prepared for living outside their comfort zone.

Social anxiety latches on to its victims and sucks all hope and motivation for self improvement and success to the point where it seems that any and all attempts to overcome it are out of reach. What once was a crippling disadvantage, is now what I have to thank for becoming my true self. It took four years to be able manage the sense of trepidation and overwhelming panic when going about day-to-day activities such as asking questions in class or even having a conversation with any acquaintances; however, I would not change anything that I have experienced.

The concept of fear dated back as far as 400 BC. During this time, Hippocrates, an ancient Greek physician described the overly shy person as “someone who loves darkness as life and thinks every man observes him”. When fear is persistent and exaggerated, it results to tension and stress and consequently, anxiety.

Honestly for most of my life I've never been the most outgoing person in the world. I suppose a stranger would've called me reserved, but I knew that deep down inside that I had the ability to not be “that shy girl”.In time it did turn out I did have that I did have the ability not to be so quiet but it did take me quite a while; one experience in particular did in a way force me to come out of my shell.

Growing up within a somewhat tight-knit family, I tend to keep my distance when it comes to large crowds. The feeling of my chest being compressed into any social interaction with someone I wasn't comfortable with needed to be over thought and rehearsed for my mind before I even attempted speaking. My off days ranged from not being able to give a presentation in class to over thinking the basic action of raising my hand to ask a teacher a question. However, I am the complete opposite with my family and close group of friends, since they are people I have gained an obvious closer relationship to rather than someone I just met. However, in the back of my mind I would always believe I had the potential to speak and gain the confidence to change

Growing up an introvert was hard; I would always be the kid who sat in the back and kept her head down waiting for class to end trying to skip out on having to share. Everything about speaking to groups of people was slightly terrifying for me. Whether it was reading my answers out loud in class or even presenting a project to a crowded room it would cause me to have anxiety. I was always like this until my senior year of high school. Senior year truly helped me break out of my shell.

When I started reception at Challa Gardens Primary school, that’s when I began to differentiate from the other kids my age. I always had a different way of looking at things, I held a lot of empathy for everyone even those who didn’t have anything to be empathetic about and even at such a young age, I would overthink everything. About half way through reception I came to the realization that I didn’t really have friends. I hang around people but looking back at it now, they always seemed annoyed by my presences. This is when my anxiety began to creep in, my fear of rejection. Which also caused my social anxiety because I fear getting close to

Throughout many of my journal entries I express the fear of going outside of my comfort zone. This fear I have is the reason why I am not vey social able or outgoing. In many of my reflections I also express the fact that I’m afraid of other people and how they will judge me. Last week in class we learned about how adolescence believe in an imaginary audience. I don’t think I ever really grew out of believing in an imaginary audience. I still constantly think I am the center of people’s attention and not in a good way.

As I have gotten older, some of the introversion has faded to a certain extent, but it is still present. Through my job as a Special Education Teacher, I have had to overcome a majority of my introversion so I can effectively do my job. On any given day, I will have to speak to not only my students but also the office staff, coworkers, and possibly some of the children’s parents. Conversation goes both ways, so to be successful at my job; I would have to be willing to be open and communicate with others more. I also have to realize that I need to make the first step sometimes. Not everyone is going to come to me; there are times I am going to have to go to others.