I have come to a place in my life where I'm stepping out of my comfort zone.
The most obvious way is me being a cheerleader. Never in a million years would I have honestly seen myself as a cheerleader. Sure in high-school I had thought about being a cheerleader and deep down inside I had wanted to; but I was more focused on other sports and dedicated to other things I deemed more important. Here I am at a new school, surrounded by new students, new professors, and in the process of learning a new sport. The sport that athletes stand on the sidelines having to look perfect, and their motions tight... I'm not a fan of having all eyes on me. It's definitely a hard thing to get used to, I'm up for the challenge to say "I have never cheered before this year and look what I learned and accomplished."
Cheer-leading is one way I am stepping out of my comfort zone another would be in my personal life.
Dating this wonderful guy is a blessing but also very challenging. We are 5.5-6 hours away from each other and while we talk everyday it is still hard not being in person. You learn so much about someone when you are around them. You learn their body language, their behaviors, the look on their face when they are happy or annoyed. You learn how they react to certain situations while you're there rather than on the phone. Don't get me wrong, I am very thankful to be dating him and have him in my life, it is just a challenge. I am having to communicate more than I ever have and tell him when something is upsetting me and how I feel about this or that. I have to be the one to vocalize because he isn't here to see that I have tears in my eyes because it is hard.
Sometimes I get frustrated, I get overwhelmed with working two jobs, taking 18 hours, cheer-leading, and having a long distance relationship that I want to give up. But that would be the easy way out. Life is rough, life is tough. I know that God has put me where I am for a reason. There's a reason I'm a Missouri Baptist instead of Oral Roberts or John Brown. There's a reason I'm on the cheer-leading squad. There's a reason I'm dating my boyfriend. There's a reason that it's long distance... (for now). There's a reason I work with Alumni. There's a reason I work at the mall. There's a reason I have special talents. There's a reason for why I am on the Earth and doing what I am doing.
As hard as it is, as uncomfortable as it is, I need to realize that it is all in God's hands. That He will make a way and everything WILL work out according to His riches and glory.
For now... CHALLENGE ACCEPTED.
I will take one day at a time, waking up determined to be positive, to give my day to God, truly give it to Him, and not worry about the small things.
I'm stepping out of my comfort zone, but I know that I'm growing and it is going to keep getting better.
Some things I have been thinking about:
