Student Bloggers

I picture life as a collection of never-ending concentric circles. Each circle representing a new comfort zone that is designed to be left behind. Where daily challenges are simply opportunities to journey closer towards that outermost circle. 

Coming to Ireland was stepping out of a comfort zone I had been stuck in for a long time. After a terrible flight experience in high school, I had a rather irrational fear of flying (I am talking like not-being-able-to-hear-an-airplane-sorta-bad). But, after an extensive risk-benefit analysis, I decided that I would be more disappointed in myself if I never tried to travel, than if I died in an airplane. Plus, I imagine death by plane crash would be quick, while living with the regret of my youth would slowly kill me from the inside out (morbid yes, but undeniably true). 

Surprising to me, since coming abroad, I have willingly flown to the United Kingdom twice, and I have plans to travel elsewhere during the remainder of my program. I found re-facing my fear often allows it to stay manageable. By shortening the duration between flights, there isn’t enough time to re-convince myself that I am afraid, because I am still high off the disbelief that I was strong enough to overcome it. 

What’s more is that my new life abroad has been full of these challenges. Most recently, it was getting a hold of Immigration without an Irish number and asking for help finding hot sauces at the grocery store. Continuing to face these difficulties makes me mildly uncomfortable, but helps me to generate enough speed to keep moving outward.  

Similarly, I imagine for most of us, studying abroad means finding our way out of one of those innermost circles. Whether it is leaving behind family and friends or simply having to buy your own food for the first time, everyone has to find their way out of a comfort zone. Although leaving a circle means venturing into a new set of challenges and complications, if you move quick enough, you will trick yourself into believing it is easy.

So join that society, talk to that person, do the thing you’ve always wanted to do. If we do not continue moving towards that comfort-zone boundary, we risk getting stuck somewhere in the middle, unable to find our way outward. However, it is not a race. We all have our own set of circles, and what is a challenge for one person might not be difficult for someone else; we don’t have to compare circles.

For me, every day is a new collection of obstacles that need to be overcome. Now, I wake up with a smile on my face and welcome difficulty waiting ahead. Whether it was asking an Irish student to study, or traveling to Galway with friends I just met, I will never regret having the courage to exit these comfort zones. While I know that the outermost circle is unattainable, I would rather spend the rest of my life searching for it, than heading backwards towards the center. 

But if I ever manage to reach that final circle, I hope to see you there.