Everybody has their own comfort zone. Some people stay in it all their lives and others seem to get out of it during early ages. Recently, I got out of mine. It wasn't all fun and games though - it was sad but soothing. This story begins with my sister, about a week ago I went to drop my sister off at Providence College in Rhode Island. I was excited but also nervous since I never thought the day my sister would leave for college could come so fast. My worst insecurity had come: being alone the fact that from now on I would had to walk outside of my car at school alone every morning and come back to an empty house after school made me very insecure and frightened. Besides, the fact that I was going to be an only child made me feel isolated and scared especially after living with my sister for my whole life. Andrea was very excited to start this new stage in her life, THE COLLEGE LIFE. I was very enthusiastic and positive since I knew she was going somewhere she loved and to study what she was passionate about. When we got off the plane at JFK airport in New York it was like a dream. Being in the city I loved with the people I loved and being able to forget about school for a while brought me satisfaction. We spent a few days at NYC having a good time as a family, going to our favorite restaurants and shopping at malls.
After two days we traveled by train to Providence, Andrea’s new home where her new life as a PC student would start. We were all very anxious and glad for her but also sad to leave without her. Visiting PC for me was very interesting and curious I was able to see the independent life of a university student and got me really excited. Before, I used to think that college was going to be an even worse prison than school since it would be much harder and take more responsibility, but after watching my sister manage her way into her first days, leaded by older students and teachers, made me feel relieved. Everyone there was very kind and helpful we had no problem in checking her in and doing all procedure this made realised that I will never be alone in situations like this there will always be someone to guide you and help you though. Unfortunately, the day to leave came faster than expected and before I knew it I was saying bye to my sister and hoping to see her soon. The good byes was very dramatic since specially me and my mom were crying but later my mom explained that this was an opportunity for me to learn to be independent and grow up as a person. Know that am back in Lima and experienced my first weeks alone and started to get used to things being different without my sister I have been able to realized what a good time in my life it was to get out of my comfort zone and mature, learn to be independent and grow up us a person. I have finally found the way to figure out things by myself and not depending on my sister such as homework last year every time I wasn't to do my something in my homework or wanted someone to check it for me I would always leave it for my sister to help me with it but since school started I have used many other tools at my disposal to a when not able to figure stuff out by myself. Even if it is hard to be alone in my house most of the time in the afternoon and sometimes late at night it has made me a much stronger person from the fact that before I couldn't say alone in my house for 10 minutes because all my insecurities would come out and I would overthink about everything. Before I had a very negative mindset toward being an only child and having to deal with problems by myself but from now on I will learn to be positive and move on.
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New year, new experiences, and new opportunities.
For the past 9 years every first week of school has been the same. Everything from troubles waking up early, to introductions of courses syllabi, and buying new supplies. However, this year was completely different because I was walking into the unknown. The repetitive routine, from the past years, changed when I stepped through the IA doors and was introduced to the iWeek project. In short, the iWeek challenge is a one-week project where all the IA students are divided into groups to work together to create a solution for a problem on campus. This year’s iWeek challenge consisted on creating an engaging online newspaper for our FDR community. We had one challenge, one week, and a group of IA students. To be honest, it felt weird at first; I was lost and didn’t understand how to tackle the project. I felt frightened to work with different people, especially from higher grades since I didn’t feel comfortable speaking up and sharing my ideas. Besides, I was under the conspiracy that as younger kids we were going to be the older students’ “umpaloompas”. However, it was totally different because the juniors and seniors motivated us, the sophomores, to have a voice and lead. I was a little worried about only having one task, the fact that we were given complete autonomy and there was no limit to what we had to create. Nevertheless, I was prepared to let loose of that fear. One of the biggest challenges I faced throughout the project was my own role. As a content member I was in charge of writing articles and editing them. I had to write an article without even knowing how to. However, the ignorance of writing just pushed me to figure things out on my own and I managed to publish my first article for the Condor Feed. I felt insecure about my writing at first, but in the end I realized why. As soon as I was assigned a group there was no trust between any of us. The image of messing up terrified me. By the end of the week, I learned how important it is to accept your mistakes and trust others to guide you in the right direction. This led me to a feeling of success since my published article ended up with 2,000 views and 400 people were engaged by it. During the whole time, I felt inspired and motivated to share my opinions and give ideas for improvement. Also, within just one article I already felt my writing improve because I was pushed to find my own writing voice, trusted my own way of thinking and skilled enough to reach my own deadlines. The little lessons I’ve learned from the iWeek Project are tools I will use as I explore my way in not only the IA this year but throughout my whole life. In this new year, I’ve been granted an opportunity with the IA and I’m ready to embrace the obstacles that are yet to come and also have fun in the process. My biggest take away from this week is that sometimes when we are put into unknown situations we are forced to think, connect skills, and find tools that will allow us to succeed. I’m excited to continue exploring what the IA has to offer and to take advantage of this new opportunity and come out of my comfort zone. I definitely found my perfect fit. |