As someone who grew up in the middle of nowhere, my life always felt confined to a small box. Coming from a small, gossip-filled town, I lived by unspoken societal rules to always stay in line and make sure no one had anything to say about me. My community left me scared to try new things and step out of my comfort zone, and my anxiety left me perfectly content to remain in that box. Now that I am in college, I’ve learned the value of doing things I never thought I could, and it has significantly improved my life.
In my first semester at UT, I took a Biological Anthropology class as a Psychology major to fulfill a science requirement, and I ended up falling in love with it. The course covered everything from primatology to human evolution, and I enjoyed every second of it. By the end of the semester, I asked my professor if I could join them at a field site to collect fossils over winter break. I was warned that the terrain would be challenging, and as someone who hadn’t been on a real hike in years, I was terrified.
Despite my fears, I went ahead with the trip. The hiking was harder than I ever thought it could be, and the fossils were hard to find. I started to believe that I never should have asked to do something like this, yet, I found fossils, learned a ton of interesting facts about the eocene, and sharpened my hiking skills. I will cherish the memories I made on that trip forever, and I am so glad I decided to go.
Each day in Austin, I am faced with the decision to stay in my comfort zone or push beyond it. I am still terrified of each new experience, but I have learned that my fear isn’t necessarily a sign for me to stop. A year ago, I never would have agreed to join that field crew, yet it is now one of my most cherished memories. If I can hike over steep cliff faces and scale canyons, is going to that night club to dance really all that scary?
Stepping outside my box hasn’t just changed my college experience, it’s reshaping my entire perspective on life. I’ve become more confident, more adaptable, and more open to opportunities I never would have even considered before. These experiences aren’t just about hiking or fossil hunting, they’re about proving to myself that I am capable of more than I could have ever imagined.
Life is short, and college is the perfect time to explore, stumble, and grow. The best experiences I’ve had so far have all started with that familiar moment of hesitation—the feeling that used to stop me in my tracks. But now, I welcome it. Because I’ve learned that on the other side of that fear is where the best memories are made.