“Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game.” – Babe Ruth
I first heard this quote as a young girl sitting in front of a t.v. watching A Cinderella Story, drooling over the beautiful Austin Ames (a.k.a. Chad Michael Murray). At the time, I didn’t think to look deeper into the true meaning behind this quote but I knew there was some truth behind it.
For as long as I can remember, I have always been that girl that never really took risks and would only stay within my comfort zone. Great opportunities would be presented to me and I would always look the other way because I had no desire to put myself out there. I don’t like to have all eyes on me; I would much rather be doing all the behind the scenes work than be center stage.
Being in college, I have realized that I will get absolutely nowhere living like this. At some point, I am going to be thrown into the real world and I am going to have to be well prepared to take on any obstacle that comes my way in order to be successful. I can’t expect to grow as a person if I am stuck in the same little bubble, being scared to take on new challenges. I have recently noticed that when I am presented with the idea of taking my leadership to a whole new level, I will tell myself that I am not good enough or I won’t do the best in the position. I use this as my excuse for not going for it when I could actually have the potential to excel.
I am learning that failure is inevitable and I should just go for these opportunities. You never know what you will get from taking the chance. I am starting to push out that voice in my head telling me that I am not good enough, and I am beginning to not resort to going back into my comfort zone out of fear. So far by doing just this, I have managed to land a job in my school’s Office of Leadership and Student Organizations, become a Director of Marketing for our activities board, write for Her Campus, and become an Ambassador for my university. Through all of these involvements, I have been able to improve on my leadership skills and become more comfortable with talking to a crowd of people. If you would have told me freshman year that I would get to this point where I am recognized as a student leader I wouldn’t believe you. I am evolving more into the person that I have always wanted to be and I absolutely love it!
To the people out there who were just like me – It might be scary at first to throw yourself out into the world but I promise you, it will be totally worth it in the end!
HCXOXO,
Shayla Fajardo