A Discussion About Comfort Zones
When asked the question “how often do you leave your comfort zone” I would say too often. I love my comfort zone. It’s called a comfort zone for a reason. I feel relaxed and comforted in my comfort zone. But stepping outside of that zone causes cortisol to start running through my body, increasing my beats per minute, and making me feel nauseous. I will give you a few examples.
When I need to present an essay, a powerpoint, whatever it may be. I have stage fright, so whenever I stand in front of people, even if it is in Japanese class in front of 6 other people who are all my friends and have taken Japanese with me for 4 years, I still feel nauseous with nervousness and my hands shake and my voice trembles.
Another example is when I am high up. I am also afraid of heights. Yes I know I am clearly fearless. Because of my fear of heights, even when I know I am completely safe, I panic. Through the years I have learned to control it better but I would still avoid heights and things like roller coasters whenever I can. One time in 6th grade we went to 6 flags. Obviously, because of my fear of heights I didn’t want to get on any of those death machines. But, with the help of a little peer pressure, I decided to at least try one ride. I got on the x-flight. As soon as it started moving up, I had a moment of panic, but it was too late, I couldn’t get off. We slowly rose and we rose. Clickety-clack. Clickety-clack. Clickety-clack. Eeeeeee. We stopped. My heart was pounding. My palms were sweaty. I closed my eyes and Whooooosh. We began to descend rapidly. I opened my eyes and I didn’t feel nervous anymore. I didn’t feel anything to be honest. Only the wind in my face. We zoomed around for a bit and then we slowly came to a stop. As soon as we stopped I jumped off with relief. It wasn’t as bad as I had thought but it was still terrifying. I was still peer pressured into going on other rides in the end even though every time I would say it was the last one.
And yet, maybe I don’t go outside of my comfort zone enough. I once went on a camping trip with my class in middle school. At one point there was a rocking climbing course. I had done some rock climbing but only the rock climbing in the gym. These were actual rocks. So I said why not and thought to myself “when will I get another chance to climb actual rocks.” I had a blast. Even though I was afraid, I had so much fun. Maybe this shows if I go outside my comfort zone enough my comfort zone will expand. I wish I could stay in my comfort zone but what’s the point in living life, our one, always too short, life. What’s the point in living if you’re not going to take risks and actually live your life. Maybe I need to go outside my comfort zone more. Maybe we all do.
I want to be able to say, when I’m on my deathbed, that I had very few regrets. That I got what I wanted out of life. That I gave to people what I wanted to give to people in life. That I made my own impact on this world, however small or large it is. And maybe the way I do this is by getting out of my small little comfort zone. However warm and comfortable it is. Maybe I need to live a bit. Maybe we all need to step out of our comfort zones and live our lives to the fullest.
Maybe John Keating is right. Seize the day. Carpe Diem.
When I need to present an essay, a powerpoint, whatever it may be. I have stage fright, so whenever I stand in front of people, even if it is in Japanese class in front of 6 other people who are all my friends and have taken Japanese with me for 4 years, I still feel nauseous with nervousness and my hands shake and my voice trembles.
Another example is when I am high up. I am also afraid of heights. Yes I know I am clearly fearless. Because of my fear of heights, even when I know I am completely safe, I panic. Through the years I have learned to control it better but I would still avoid heights and things like roller coasters whenever I can. One time in 6th grade we went to 6 flags. Obviously, because of my fear of heights I didn’t want to get on any of those death machines. But, with the help of a little peer pressure, I decided to at least try one ride. I got on the x-flight. As soon as it started moving up, I had a moment of panic, but it was too late, I couldn’t get off. We slowly rose and we rose. Clickety-clack. Clickety-clack. Clickety-clack. Eeeeeee. We stopped. My heart was pounding. My palms were sweaty. I closed my eyes and Whooooosh. We began to descend rapidly. I opened my eyes and I didn’t feel nervous anymore. I didn’t feel anything to be honest. Only the wind in my face. We zoomed around for a bit and then we slowly came to a stop. As soon as we stopped I jumped off with relief. It wasn’t as bad as I had thought but it was still terrifying. I was still peer pressured into going on other rides in the end even though every time I would say it was the last one.
And yet, maybe I don’t go outside of my comfort zone enough. I once went on a camping trip with my class in middle school. At one point there was a rocking climbing course. I had done some rock climbing but only the rock climbing in the gym. These were actual rocks. So I said why not and thought to myself “when will I get another chance to climb actual rocks.” I had a blast. Even though I was afraid, I had so much fun. Maybe this shows if I go outside my comfort zone enough my comfort zone will expand. I wish I could stay in my comfort zone but what’s the point in living life, our one, always too short, life. What’s the point in living if you’re not going to take risks and actually live your life. Maybe I need to go outside my comfort zone more. Maybe we all do.
I want to be able to say, when I’m on my deathbed, that I had very few regrets. That I got what I wanted out of life. That I gave to people what I wanted to give to people in life. That I made my own impact on this world, however small or large it is. And maybe the way I do this is by getting out of my small little comfort zone. However warm and comfortable it is. Maybe I need to live a bit. Maybe we all need to step out of our comfort zones and live our lives to the fullest.
Maybe John Keating is right. Seize the day. Carpe Diem.
Great post, Noah! The blog tone was conversational and you did a great job providing insights into your opinion on your comfort zone. I also completely agree with the second half of your essay. I often end up regretting not participating in initially scary activities, such as voicing my thoughts in class. If I could change anything, I would probably make the transition to the last paragraph a bit more methodical so it doesn't suddenly become such a deep topic. Good job!
ReplyDeleteHi Noah, great work! Your blog is very relatable and I agree with your take on comfort zones. The descriptions of your experiences on the roller coaster and rock climbing provides a good image of the setting, further allowing us to connect to your blog. The onomatopoeia you use for the ride is on point. I also thought the way you ended the essay leaves a powerful impact on the reader. Great job!
ReplyDeleteI love the sound effects! It throws you into the scene and makes the suspense feel even realer. I also really like the sequence of sentences at the end. The fact that they're short yet make these grand statements gives a sense of conclusion and sums up the essay really well. One quick thing that I think you might want to look over though is your punctuation. For example, I noticed that in the fourth paragraph, there are a few sentences that are missing question marks. Also, "Yes I know I am clearly fearless" seems like a run on sentence to me. However, these are small things that are easily fixed. Overall, I enjoyed reading your essay.
ReplyDeleteI really liked your essay because it showed an insight into your mind as you did these things that brought you out of your comfort zone. The fact that you were also able to acknowledge some fears that you had was also eye-opening. Good job!
ReplyDeleteNice essay! I really like your insight later in the paragraph that the ore you push yourself out of your comfort zone, the more expands. Like maybe now you would feel more comfortable climbing rocks or going on rollercoasters than you did before (even if it's only a little bit). Great job with the conversational tone as well.
ReplyDeleteI really liked the conversational tone of your essay and you did a great job at providing different perspectives by talking about how you go out of your comfort zone often, but maybe not enough. I think the variation in sentence structure, especially in the third paragraph, makes your essay flow well. I love the last sentence!
ReplyDelete