“Do one thing every day that scares you.” -Eleanor Roosevelt
College is a time to try new things, as we’ve been told over and over. It’s a time to discover who you are and who you want to be. It’s a time you are surrounded by people you’d never otherwise meet and get crazy opportunities that you may never have again.
This Eleanor Roosevelt quote has been on my mind a lot lately. I’ve done a lot of things that scare me in the past year, but it’s funny how that every new one is a new challenge. Some of them are big—I moved 1500 miles across the country to a place with only one person I knew, who I also knew I wouldn’t see a lot. Some of them, though, aren’t so big. Maybe they wouldn’t seem to fit this idea to other people. Things like asking someone who kind of intimidates me to get lunch.
Something I discover more and more about myself, though, is that I thrive on this. I thrive on taking (positive) risks and doing things that put me out of my comfort zone. Don’t get me wrong, it’s scary at first. But I do it anyway. Sometimes things go well and sometimes they don’t, but at least I’ve tried. Somebody else said that it’s the risks you don’t take that you regret.
In some ways, my life right now is just sort of one big risk. I’m flinging myself into the deep end of pretty much everything, but I’d rather live that way than do everything halfway. I don’t know what my one thing will be today. But it’s a new day. Another opportunity will come along.