Try Something New

My teacher for ethnocultural class is a typical head in the clouds professor who doesnt care much about grades but does constantly challenge us to Think and step outside our comfort zones and really study and reflect upon ourselves. A friend of mine is doing a marathon month where every day she must do something new and or something unexpected and unplanned. I think both of these challenges are important to incorporate into our experience on a regular basis. I tried three new things in class the other day; I changed a part of my identity when I introduced myself to experiment with how people would react to that information, I consciously changed my role in a group; in a situation where I normally would take the lead and authority, I let myself observe, and I chose to work with a group of people I did not know at all, instead of gravitating towards the classmates I am more familiar with. I've been trying new things in my personal life as well; meeting new people going to new places, because I was finding myself stuck in a place of monotony and repetition of the same old thoughts. It is a wonder how comfortable we get with what is familiar and safe to us. It really requires a conscious decision to step outside of our usual box and investigate what is in another box, maybe we walk by it everyday but we have never looked inside.