THROWN out of my Comfort Zone!

Have you ever been thrown out of your comfort zone? I mean REALLY been thrown out your comfort zone, to the point where everything seems novel, and sometimes just straight up overwhelming?

Well I have, and this morning I woke up ready to talk (well in this case write) about it.

For the last couple of weeks I have been getting the same question, and I have been giving the same lackluster answer with some variation here and there depending on who I am talking to. With the exception of let’s say two or three people (one whom does not read my blog, I won’t hold it against her though) I don’t think anyone has gotten a genuine answer. It’s not because I don’t want anyone to know the truth, because if you know me well I am ALL about sharing experiences, thoughts, emotions, and all that other good stuff. But, I am also really into taking the time to think about and process personal experiences without too much input from others; although I do understand that importance of a confidant which is why I carefully choose depending on the situation who I share things with.

Since I have spent the last couple of weeks thinking, and processing I thought I’d share a little about my first quarter of graduate school; and give to those who have received one of my lackluster answers a better answer to the question “How was your first semester(really quarter) of grad school?”

It was HARD, in EVERY sense of the word!

The last couple of months have TRULY thrown me out of my comfort zone, and I would be lying if I said it was an easy transition because it was not. It is actually a transition that has included some doubt, fear, and tears; a transition that I know deep down inside is not yet complete. I am EXTREMELY grateful and understand it is a blessing that I have the opportunity to continue my education, and at the same time understand that some things in life (Even good things) come with challenges that we must deal with and overcome.

The biggest thing I have had to deal with, and the thing from which I believe most of my challenges stem is the fact that I now live in a new city by myself, which has been really rough for me socially and mentally. Not knowing anyone, and being around the same people (who all have very different personalities) everyday has been harder than I thought it would be. I have had moments that I have simply just felt lonely, which I must say is not the best feeling in the world (so much so that I am getting a little emotional just writing about it!). I now have a new found appreciation for technology; BBMs, text messages, Facebook, Skype, e-mails, and telephone calls have honesty been what has gotten me through some of my hardest days. I am extremely grateful for the support system I have, because without it who knows how what the last couple of months would have been like.

On top of the social and mental aspect of being in Chicago I have had to deal with adjusting to school. For most of my life I have been able to hold it down academically something that I attribute to the simple fact that I am a hard worker when I need to be. School with the exception of a few classes/ teachers has never really been extremely painful for me, up until a few months ago. Clearly they are not about to just throw a degree at me, I'm actually going to have to work really hard for it (ahhh man! Justttt Joking). I know I can handle it I have just had to and will still have to make some adjustments to the way in which I approach my studies.

Because I could go on and on, and because I don’t feel like writing about this anymore (lol), I’ll just wrap it up and say I came home mentally exhausted for so many reasons. I was SOOOOOOO ready for this break. Looking back on the last three month I can only hope and pray that they are not a repeat!

Thankfully, I find comfort in the fact that I KNOW God would never put me in a situation that I could not handle or a situation where I had no purpose. With every challenge in life comes the opportunity to grow and I have grown to realize and appreciate that at this point in time God is just challenging “me to trust and believe”. I also know things WILL get better.

I am going to make the big assumption and say that everyone reading this has at some point in time been thrown out of their comfort zone. When we find ourselves in tough situations it is very easy to get caught up in all that is going wrong and dwell on our feelings of fear, doubt, loneliness, and inadequacy. Due to the fact that challenges are somewhat inevitable, what becomes important is how we react and adapt to our difficult circumstances no matter what they may be. I urge you all to use the times when you are thrown out of your comfort zone to learn about not only yourselves but others, and most importantly as a time to grow and expand your comfort zone!

I very often find comfort in music, so I thought I’d share with you one of the songs I have had on blast for awhile!(it took me awhile to figure out how to get this link on here so you better listen)