Stepping out of our comfort zone is advice that we hear all the time, especially when we first come to college. Trust me, hearing the phrase gets old. Just thinking about doing something that makes you feel uncomfortable can be intimidating. As someone who’s slightly an introvert—I say slightly because there are some days that I throw caution to the wind—leaving my comfort zone is the LAST thing I ever wanted to do. I built a very structured schedule/routine for myself. It’s easier that way and I know what to expect (for the most part) every day. But in May 2019, I decided to take my whole schedule and throw it out the window! I jumped out of my comfort zone.
I’m not exaggerating, I left my extremely structured lifestyle to go on the adventure of a lifetime by traveling halfway across the world to Tanzania. I wasn’t stepping out of my comfort zone I was full-on jumping at this point. I was terrified because I’d never been out of the country before. Okay, well, I’ve been to Canada but I was with my family and honestly it’s only about 8 hours away. This was an 18-hour plane ride and I was traveling without knowing anyone. I’d meet a few volunteers along the way and in Africa. So I was straight panicking, to the point that a few hours prior to lift off, I thought about not going altogether. Obviously, I got on the plane and let me tell you…
It was the greatest decision I’ve ever made for myself.
I love working and having a packed schedule so much that I sometimes stress myself out like no other. It’s not healthy. I know this. But at the same time, I can’t really help it. I feel like I get a lot out of my day if I’m constantly running from one thing to another with no downtime. Going on this trip forced me to give all that up, place my whole life on hold, and live in the moment. No excess planning, scheduling times to work on things, or creating excessive to-do lists just to stay busy. None of that.
Instead, I had my day pretty much planned for me. I was all for it. In the morning, I would work construction to create an office for Skuli Ya Kairo GIVE. There were no bulldozers or machines or anything like that. Everything was created and built by hand. It was all about being as sustainable as possible. We split into a few groups: some of us were making concrete, some would work with permaculture, and others would work on building a new classroom.
In the afternoons, I helped teach English to some of the men from the local Massai tribe in the Men’s Literacy Class. I’ve never taught a class in my life, so I was pretty intimidated, even with the lesson planning before class started. I had no idea what I was getting into or what to expect. But these men are some of the most intelligent and dedicated students I’ve ever encountered. These men showed up every single day to class because they wanted to learn. They were excited about class and education. That’s something that’s so rare here in America. We show up every day because we have to, but these men were just passionate about learning—and get this, they helped one another to make sure everyone understood the lessons. Again, that’s something so uncommon here in the States. We’re so competitive when it comes to education. For what? Honestly, who knows? I just know that their positive outlook on getting an education was so inspiring. It made me excited to start my final semester of college. It’s something I’m still excited about, and now I constantly look for ways to learn new things.
These men didn’t just inspire me to continue to get an education, they reminded me that it’s okay to make mistakes. I think we all struggle with the desire to be perfect or feeling the need to know everything. They reminded me to laugh at my mistakes and when I fumbled up on something I didn’t know. These men did both of these things throughout the entire class every day.
Another lesson I learned while on the island of Zanzibar is to stop rushing through life and to pay attention to what’s going on in the present. Sure, I could stick to planning out every hour of every day but I would miss so much. Little did I know I was about to be forced to take a minute to be so present in the moment it felt surreal. One day all of us volunteers were walking home one day from school and were greeted by a group of children that lived in the village for an impromptu dance party. Sure, I could’ve kept going and headed back to the beach to chill out before dinner. But I didn’t want to. I wanted to just pause and dance with these kids.
It’s been about five months since I’ve been home and it’s still one of my favorite memories of the trip. It was one of those moments where you sort of have an out of body experience and look around and think, “how is this real life right now?” I’ve never experienced that level of happiness or even been surrounded by that level of happiness in my life. I didn’t think it existed.
Going on a GIVE trip was something I needed exactly when I went and I didn’t even know it. Yes, the two weeks I was there flew by and it felt like I was only there for a few days. However, when you’re surrounded by over 40 like-minded people who all come from different backgrounds, it’s amazing how many great things emerge. It’s 100% cheesy to say, I’m fully aware. But it was like all 40 of us knew each other for years before we arrived in Tanzania but in reality, we didn’t meet until we got there. Everyone was so willing to get to know the people around them with no judgments and to take the time to learn from the locals about their culture and way of life.
Personally, I learned so much about myself while I was there. Going into the trip, I was in a rough spot. My depression and anxiety were at an all-time high and most days it got the best of me. I was absolutely miserable most of the time. I hated life. I’d get frustrated so easily and possessed such a negative outlook on the world.
Going on this trip with an open mind allowed me to find so much inner peace through finding a new perspective on the world. As I said, I’ve never experienced a level of happiness like the one the people of Kairo had. Here in America, we have so many things that are essentially fillers for our happiness. I mean think about it: we’re so obsessed with what we have, constantly searching for the next new thing. We can have almost anything we point our finger at, yet we’re so unhappy and our country is filled with so much hate. Every single person I met while in Africa was the exact opposite. They’re so full of life, so happy and so grateful for everything. They want to succeed together and are so eager to learn about the people that they meet along the way and to teach others. There’s a sense of community there instead of every person for themselves attitude we have here.
I’ve been lucky enough to travel all over the States growing up, but I’ve never really missed any of those places that I’ve visited. Clearly, that all changed this past May when I went to Tanzania and got to know all of these amazing people and experience their culture. This is one place I feel has made such a positive impact on my life that I need to go back.
To the 40 other volunteers and all of our guides, thank you for changing my life for the better.