Living in the Growth Zone

I have had three major fears most of my life. One - getting my driver's license; two - going to college, and three - kissing my future husband in front of everyone at my wedding. They may seem a little unusual to you, but I have feared them since I was 10. Nevertheless, the older I get, the more the fear fades, but there it still sits waiting for the day to come when I have to meet it face to face.

I am proud to say I have faced at least one of those fears! Although it took four times to get my permit (I am NOT a test taker), I passed with flying colors when it came to the actual driving portion of it! I wasn’t scared to get my driver’s license because I was afraid of driving. I was afraid because I was a sixteen-year-old about to get in a car and drive it with a random stranger. Yet again, I was not afraid of this random stranger being dangerous or anything. I was afraid I would have to bring up conversation and actually talk to him. The real fear in this situation was talking and having conversation skills, something I lacked a lot of when I was younger.

I will be facing my second fear in less than a week as I start my very first day of college. I am not as nervous as I once was; however, I will admit I am a little anxious. It is the first step to becoming an “adult” as a lot of my adult peers would say. Here is my problem… I don’t know how to not only “adult” but also “college.” For these eighteen years of my life, I have been in the same town (population 842 by the way) with the same people and the same school not having to witness this weird thing called “change.” I will be living in a new town, I have to make new friends, and I will no longer be wandering the halls of Fertile-Beltrami High School but instead the University of Minnesota Crookston where the total enrollment of 2,633 is way more than my home town. 

As for my third fear, only the future can tell, but the point is that there will be many obstacles in life that we will fear. If it weren't for taking a step outside of my comfort zone, I would have never gained the ability to have confidence. Confidence that whatever I do, the experience is what counts. I would have never fully appreciated the work put in and the lessons taken away.

Scared? Good. We don’t grow when we are in our comfort zone.

 Let’s decide to grow and take that first initial step outside of your comfort zone. In fact, don’t even think of it. Start thinking and get stuck in your mind that you are going to enter the “growing zone” and that is where you will take risks, witness change, and be bold. This is where you are going to learn and grow into a better you. You might be scared or anxious and that is completely fine after all. If you are nervous, it is because you are about to do something really, really brave. At any given chance, we are given two choices: to step forward into growth or back into safety. My advice? Start living in the growth zone.

Stationed by the Flag,

Britton Fuglseth