Getting out of my comfort zone, was never a problem for me. In fact, traveling, exploring the unknown, trying different things and shaping my own perspectives was a routine for me. t all suddenly changed as I came to the U.S.A this year.
It all started back at December 15th, 2015, the day when I went back home from an amazing and life changing experience in India. I was happy, truly happy to see my family, my friends and go back where I do belong, but something was wrong with me. I was feeling homesick even in my home country. I felt very strange about it. For a year, I felt that the world has changed but I was always standing at the same place It was never the same again. That was the moment when you believe that people change (‘Change’ is not the right word, it’s ‘evolve’).
I was rebuilding my little life from the bottom. I had a great job which I was passionate about, I have true friends and a family that supports me. I had what any 25-year-old person would not even dare to dream of. I had my life together but somehow, I felt incomplete, unfulfilled, there was something missing: the thrill that you feel when you get out of your comfort zone. I start to search for a meaning, a goal that will keep me vibrating and I found my relief in my work. I needed to aim for more, take my career to my next level, have an impact on people’s lives, this is what made me feel alive.
I came across this fellowship, Atlas Corps Fellowship. This was the perfect match. After rounds of interviews, I have been accepted and had to fly after 2 months to the U.S. It was a really hard decision: giving up your stability, security and happy life to go for a total different world, a different culture, a different mindset, different work environment… I made up my mind and I decided to go.
It was pretty familiar when I came to the U.S.A, I guess because I was still in my comfort zone among my friends, talking my language, keeping my habits. But it all changed at once when I had to fly by my own to Washington State. I never thought I would be so scared to be by own. It was somehow a nightmare for me. I even thought about dropping everything and go back. But that was a little voice in my head that kept saying: everything is going to be alright. I was deeply hurt; my whole world was collapsing, and I could not even talk to my friends due to the time difference. Again, I was by my own! I started to appreciate my own company. I understood that in order to appreciate the company of others, you need to start loving your own, talk to yourself, identify your low points and try to improve them. As I was keeping hope, things started to change, new people moved in my house and they became a sort of family for me. I worked on my bad habits and started focusing on my main objectives.
The moral of the story: embrace the change, let your world collapse, this is how you find yourself, this is how you make things work. Don’t be afraid of the unknown because there is always a lesson to learn. This is how we grow, and this is how we improve. GET OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE !
Now, I can say: “It’s so good and it’s actually true.”