March 11th
The first time I heard this quote was in my Intro to Engineering class my freshman year of college. At first, I ignored Dr. T's words. I looked up form doodling on my paper and read the slide that was projected on the wall. "Life begin at the end of your comfort zone". The words hit home. For the past few months I had felt trapped in the Santa Clara bubble. Life was too good to be true. Santa Clara was the college version of my high school with both schools run by Jesuits and 17 people from my class including my best friend coming to college with me. I never felt out of place or challenged. It all made sense now. The past few mouths didn't feel real because I had jumped from one comfort zone to another and never struggled adapting to college life. From that moment on, I made a promise to myself. I would take more risks, go on more adventures and find a way to leave my comfort zone.
I have definitely begun to venture out of my comfort zone. I am a CF, which for forced me to mature more than I could have ever imagined. I went camping with a group of people I hardly knew. I hiked 8 miles in the rain with out really knowing where I was going. I swam Alcatraz in the freezing water of the San Francisco Bay, and now I am about to prepare for the biggest adventure of my life. In three and a half months I will leave for Argentina. I will be in Buenos Aries for 7 weeks learning spanish and volunteering for an organization called L.I.F.E.
Since I was 5, I have wanted to immerse myself in latin american culture to learn spanish and volunteer. I have jealously watch many friend and teachers go on immersion trips as I bagged my parents to let me go as well. (Obviously this failed multiple times.) Now, 15 years after watching a beloved family friend visit the sister parish of our church, it is my turn for an unforgettable, once in a life time opportunity that I could not be more grateful for.
Even though my plane tickets will be bought in the next few days, it still doesn't seem real.
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