My New Year's resolution
By Grace Oh
In my 7th grade English class the teacher assigned us students to write a short story and share it in front of the class. Watching several students go ahead of me to present their stories, I did not raise my hand, thinking, “What if the other students laugh at me or judge my story weird?” Seconds later, however, my heart protested, “You spent two weeks putting forth your effort and time to research and write this story. If you keep staying in your comfort zone now, all that time and effort will go to waste and nobody will hear about your ideas and thoughts.” For the next several seconds, I became unsettled as my heart raged war against my head. Eventually, I sided with my heart and got out of my comfort zone. This experience not only boosted my confidence but also led me later to uncover my love for presenting and performing things in front of people.
Last year, during the speed skating Nationals, my coach came up to me before my last race and said, “Grace, you have two options. You can sprint ahead of the group and keep up a constant pace as number one. Or start off slowly in second and third position and pass the skaters in front of you towards the finish line.” It was a 1500m sprint, the most challenging distance for me. I had to choose wisely because this race would be the biggest factor in determining my overall standing. Since I used to run out of my steam in the middle of the race, I feared that I would fail to keep my spot as number one. I chose to stay in my comfort zone of following behind the skaters. After I got off the ice from my race, I was disappointed. I regretted not sprinting ahead of the pack in the beginning, and asked myself, “Would I have won had I taken the risk of sprinting ahead of everyone from the start?”
Last winter, during my church retreat, I participated in a Q&A session, in which students could ask the college students who acted as the group leaders about their career paths. While listening to how these leaders discovered their paths, a couple of questions merged in my mind. But I kept myself from raising my hand, fearing that my question would be a dumb one. Later when my friends and I were talking about the Q&A panel, I told them about what was on my mind. “Whoa, that’s a really good question, why didn’t you ask them in the session?” said one of my friends. Upon hearing her comment, I immediately regretted not raising my hand and murmured. “Why do I still care about what others would think about me? Until when do I need to doubt myself?
From my English class, skating competition, and church retreat, I formed two New Year’s resolutions. The longer I stay in my comfort zone, the fewer opportunities I will have. Everything I want is on the other side of my comfort zone.
Grace Oh is a student at International School, Bellevue, WA. Write to Grace27sw.oh@gmail.com.