Venturing Beyond Your Comfort Zone

Having just spent the last 6 weeks in Europe and 4 weeks in Berlin for a short exchange program, I can safely say that these were some of the best experiences of my life.

However, I actually didn’t really want to go in the first place. After two and a half years of not leaving the country, I was comfortable, seeing and doing the same things on a daily basis.

Two days before my program started I found myself in Berlin, Germany, standing at the door of my Airbnb.

Being in another country and someone else’s home was nothing less than lonely. I remember so vividly telling myself, “I can’t wait for this to be over,” only 1 hour into arriving in Berlin!

So what changed?

The start of my trip was definitely intimidating, but it only took two days for the momentum to shift.

As the program commenced, I began to meet different people doing the program too. We’d spend time outside of class going to Biergartens around the city, we’d explore different museums and we’d even take electric scooters and ride from one person’s house to another.

Things started to become more familiar and I realised it wasn’t about the activities themselves, it was about the people.

Looking back, I understand why I was scared at the start, but maybe that is what I needed?

All it took was that first step… or 25 hours of flying ;)