MALE BOX: Leaving Your Comfort Zone

By Matt G.

Routine is safe. It’s secure. It’s, well . . . comfortable.

It can be truly comforting to know what to expect when you go to school or work each day. The “comfort zone” often gets an unwarranted bad rap, and leaving one’s comfort zone is lauded as a heroic deed. Is being in your comfort zone really that bad? That’s what I wondered when I contemplated leaving my job to pursue another degree.

While there was nothing wrong with my 8:00–5:00 job, I would not have had the opportunities, growth, and friendships I currently enjoy if I had not shaken up my life and moved to College Station, Texas (a city I had never been to in a state I had only visited once prior to my first day of class).

As someone who studied English, editing, and Russian in college and worked primarily as a writer thereafter, enrolling in this program meant leaving behind a steady job with a decent paycheck to take Master’s level classes in subjects I had zero familiarity with. It meant trading in my comfort zone for business classes that at times seemed more foreign than studying Russian.

But you know what? The personal growth has outweighed the hardships. It has been totally worth it. And it will be worth it for you too if you decide to do something you really want to do—something that seems impossible.

That something could be a variety of things:

• Trying out for a sports team
• Singing a solo
• Becoming a foreign exchange student
• Volunteering at a hospital
• Going on a mission trip

Doing these things will more than disrupt your comfort zone. It will change your life for the better. You will increase your education, enhance your knowledge, and become a more well-rounded person. Add in the sense of satisfaction that comes from doing something you never thought you could do.

I wish you the best of luck as you leave behind your old life and go for your goals.

Matt is a former copywriter, columnist, and Russian interpreter. He only took one business class as an undergrad. Today he is on the Mays MBA Student Advisory Board and is President of SHOC (Students Helping Our Community).

Discovering My Own Self Worth Through Writing

By Erin J.

A five year process has just become a big milestone in my life: my first novel is now available for purchase on Amazon Kindle. But writing Walls was also a process in self discovery. Through writing Walls, I was able to take a journey into my own struggles and inadequacies and discover my own self worth through my character.

The story focuses on the Biblical account of Rahab, the harlot who saved the Israelite spies and was in turn saved when Joshua’s army knocked down the walls of Jericho.

When I first read the Bible account, I felt a personal connection to this young woman, mentioned so briefly in the Bible. What was life like as a harlot? Did she feel lonely? Scared? Worthless? Why had she decided to save the Israelites and join their nation and religion? How did religion and spiritual discovery play a part in what she did?

Although I don’t know what it’s like to be a harlot, I think all of us understand what it’s like to feel worthless, weak, and unloved. As I wrote about Rahab’s struggles, I drew from my own feelings and experiences, particularly during my teenage years. Like Rahab, I was also worth a lot in God’s eyes; but, like Rahab, it took me a little while to realize it.

Like Rahab, I hope that we can all break down the “walls” of our own inadequacies and find our inner strength.

If you’re interested in learning more about these topics, you can purchase Walls here.