The unknown is a fear that is common against humans and their comfort zones. Regularly, it is very common for humans to be afraid of opening up to others if they do not know them at all. When it comes to comfort zones, mostly teenage kids are aware of what their difficulties, weaknesses and obstacles are. It may create anxiety or stress. In the end, coming out of your comfort zone is the best because you get to discover the new world. Many want to overcome this obstacle, however they are unable to do so. What are the steps to build a comfort zone? How can people learn to overcome this challenge? What qualities do they need for this journey? What support does that require? There are many solutions for one to overcome their comfort zone.

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“A comfort zone is a psychological state in which things feel familiar to a person and they are at ease and in control of their environment, experiencing low levels of anxiety and stress.” (Wikipedia, April 2018). Some people have difficulty to come out of their comfort zone because it creates anxiety inside the body and the mind goes blank. Feminism is a thing that can be connected to comfort zones. Back in the years, women did not have the right to speak, or do anything at all, so when they wanted to show off, they were afraid to build up their confidence and speak and say what they believed in. One day, Rosa Parks changed everything. The same is for comfort zones, sometimes people don't feel prepared to go out and discover the new world. Hillary Clinton’s novel, Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris to Teenage Girls: ‘Speak up.’”  provides a connection to this topic because Kamala Harris, a black woman, that worked as a lawyer and politician, had a lot of struggles speaking up because she was nervous that people would judge her or demean due to the fact that she is an African American. She suggests that people looking to be heard should “always be more prepared than anyone else; do not run from challenges, but do ask for help; and try alternating nostril breathing” (Harris par._). Speaking up is part of pushing past your comfort zone/what's comfortable, since it is one of the main elements of being the person you want to become. Also, it is an element that is truly needed to build up confidence in oneself since it gives the human body more creativity and liberty for someone to move on and become aware of who they truly are. Adding on, Eugenia Garcia, and ASFM sophomore student, was interviewed and asked the following questions; Why do you think that most of the people are so afraid to speak up when they don't know someone? What qualities do you think are needed for someone to be confident about themselves? And lastly, What do you think are the steps to feel confident in oneself? She basically put the three questions together, and said that the best strategy for overcoming limitations because of your comfort zone is to “breathe and to truly believe in yourself… You are a human like everyone else, and if they are gonna laugh about the things you say, then its because they are jealous” (Garcia). The qualities that you need to build up this confidence, is to become someone with generosity and kindness, since it is what people mostly look for in a human, because those qualities are the ones that matter the most.

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“Yes Theory” is a group of guys who dedicate their lives to traveling and setting themselves up to uncomfortable situations in which they have to overcome one way or another. To show their adventures and social challenges they make youtube videos in order to see and reflect upon seeking discomfort. “Yes Theory” is made up of 5 guys Thomas, Ammar, Matt, Derin and Thomas, they all have taken part of several videos which include asking random strangers in the streets of Los Angeles to do outrageous things that usually involve some sort of adventure behind it. In this youtube video, they asked strangers if they wanted to go skydiving with them. As the video progresses civilians are saying no and no to them because they are afraid of the unknown as well as “many things could go wrong, especially with strangers you do not know” (Yes Theory, 2018) Eventually a brave couple said yes to the experience and turned out to be one of the best days, but it goes to show that it is all about saying yes to the adventure and the unknown, although you don’t have control of it. If the couple had never agreed to go on this adventure with strangers, they would not have had the experience of skydiving or most especially being outside of their comfort zones because “1 simple yes, can take you 12000 feet up” (Yes Theory, 2018). The power of saying yes and changing the thing that scares you the most can change by “the very act of doing the thing that scared me, undid the fear” (Rhimes, 00:00:47). Shonda Rhimes, talks about how a simple yes, changed her life around and potentially saved her career as a writer. Rhimes explains how  “I make stuff up for a living” (Rhimes, 00:02:20).  She is constantly creating and producing “3 sometimes 4 shows” (Rhimes, 00:02:36). Rhimes talks about how there was a time that the lost her hum, a hum meaning her inspiration. She was out of ideas and how by saying yes to her daughter brought her “hum back, not the hum but a hum” (proper citation) Yes is what brings out the fear in individuals and potentially have their future depend of the simple power of a word. Yes.

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Getting comfortable with being uncomfortable is crucial when it comes to our future and the choices that we are making as young adults that define our future, not only does saying yes decide our path but taking risks and being in constant discomfort. But the fear of failing is blocking our full potential and “fear has a very concrete power keeping us from doing and saying the things that are our purpose” (Ajayi 00:03:09) unlocking our true purpose and finding our value will not come if we are not the domino that sets off a chain reaction. “Being a domino, for me looks like speaking up and doing the things that are really difficult especially when they are needed.” (Ajayi 00:01:18) as the next generation that will lead this world to success there are people who need to take the risk and be the domino in this case, who are willing to fall and get out of their comfort zone. Society may think that molding yourself into the social norm, in other words staying in your comfort zone but the reality is that “comfort is overrated” (Ajayi 00:05:30) and it truly is because most inspirational figures are constantly breaking the rule of comfort such as P.T. Barnum, he was the first man to ever create a circus despite all of the hate and constant criticism, he celebrated the art of being different. Different in all ways and that it was okay, in fact it was better to be different than be like the rest of society. As well as my dance teacher, Andrea Young. When she moved to Mexico it was very uncomfortable for her since she did not know anybody especially since she had no way to communicate. But slowly she learned and by taking a risk to move to a place with a foreign language, to live with strangers, she is forever grateful that she challenged her comfort boundaries because “all comfort has done is maintain the status quo” (Ajayi 00:05:39). The domino is a hit, a hit that everybody needs to take, because the possibilities are endless when you break the boundaries. Especially the little ones are the ones with the biggest impact. “In a world that wants us to walk around as representatives of ourselves, being yourself can be a revolutionary act” (Ajayi 00:09:26)

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Yubing Zhang is a Stanford University graduate school of business, who gave a TedX talk. “Life Begins at the End of Your Comfort Zone”  (Walsch, Neale).  IMAGE The message that this quote is trying to tell us is how sometimes you are doing things that do not make you feel comfortable, but when you step out of the zone, you are pushing yourself to become someone better with no fear of being who you want to become. This quote was introduced to Yubing when she was about to jump from the world's tallest bungy platform. When she turned to her left, she read that quote in a huge building. When she jumped off, she thought to herself “It’s not as scary as it looks” (Zhang, Yubing); this taught her that most of the activities that she does are always better to try them than to decline them because in the end, we don't lose nothing by trying it once or twice. She created a vocational training session for all those who are not ready or have struggles with getting out of their comfort zone, so that she can talk about her personal experiences, create confidence, and to teach the people that it is okay to fail multiple times, you should not be scared. The fear of speaking up is a regular and common fear since maybe our traits are not the strongest ones. Adding on to her talk, your passions are your priorities and whatever you want to do for your passion, you should follow your dreams.

Conclusion: 

Comfort zones are not the thing that should stop us from reaching our full potential and the risk of failing lead our path towards life. After constantly researching and finding out for myself what it feels to be like out of your comfort zone and constantly be seeking discomfort as well as trying out new things. For me, it was a different experience that brought up new feelings that I have not been introduced to before. Going through this adventure it has taught me to never let my fear be the guide of my life choices, always be open to new things and say yes, always because you never know where it might lead in the future.

Works Cited Page
- Sonia Kohli. “Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris to Teenage Girls: ‘Speak up.’” Newsela | Sign In, Los Angeles Times, 21 Dec. 2017
TEDxTalks. YouTube, YouTube, 18 June 2015

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QijH4UAqGD8