College is a time where students will find themselves constantly breaking free from their comfort zones, whether they want to or not. This is something that happens naturally to everybody who attends college.
Simply going off to a school by yourself to live in a room with someone you had never met may easily be out of a lot of people’s comfort zones already. This is essentially what college is all about. Without trying to break free of your shell that you have had your whole life from your life, it will be harder for you to experience college to the fullest. Going to events and clubs that you would have never thought to join or interest you is a major aspect during this time.
A lot of students are told these things over and over again, but struggle to figure out how to actually get out of that comfort zone because they are so used to being inside of it. One of the ways to do this is to stop over thinking so much. I see students every day who might see something they want to go to that interests them, but then start to overthink it and eventually convince themselves that it would not be worth it because they may not have any friends who want to come with them, or they may be “too busy” when they are actually not.
If you see something that looks fun or is intriguing to you, join it and ask questions about it. Learn more about what interests you and do not think about the other aspects besides the fact that you want to learn more about it. Overthinking is what stops people from getting out of their comfort zone, and if they just stop doing it they will find themselves doing things that they would have never thought to do.
While working on the constant overthinking is a big step in breaking out of your shell, there are other things you can do. One of these is to simply switch up your daily routine. Instead of doing the same thing all week and following your usual schedule, be aware of what you are doing and when you are doing it and try to change some of those up. This will allow you to see people you maybe haven’t seen as much and will open you to new opportunities that could not have been found in your previous daily routine.
Another easy way to begin to get more comfortable out of your shell is to just say hello to strangers when you see them. If you can do that and maybe even spark up a minute-long conversation, it reminds you that we are all people and there is no need to not say hello because you do not know them. You just don’t know them yet. If you are already doing all these things, then you are experiencing college the best way possible. If not, then start so you can begin to enjoy it to the absolute fullest.
DISCLAIMER: This article is the sole opinion of William Pruett
William Pruett can be contacted at
wpruett@kscequinox.com
