When It Comes To New and Different Experiences, Just Say “YES!”
College is singlehandedly the best pair of training wheels. If you can get through college with decent grades, good friends and improved skills and knowledge, you already got an “A” in my book.
Yes, college is about refining our abilities and growing our minds. It is, however, a place in which to grow personally and professionally as well. We all go to school, study (cram), and produce papers and presentations. But that’s not the whole equation! We have to learn how to network, how to talk to different types of people, how to shed our former weaknesses and overall, flourish into young adults.
Here are my Top 5 reasons why you should just say “YES!”* to new experiences:
Meet new people!
They may not become your best friend or even a close acquaintance…but they just may! Plus, it’s always nice to see a familiar and friendly face around campus.
Exposure to different scenarios.
When we reach the world of 9-5’s, we will have 8 hours in which we are constantly pushed, shoved and thrown into scary and new work related situations. If we say yes to new experiences, we will have the confidence and experience to get through those crazy situations. This also applies to any personal obstacles we may encounter.
Discovery of new qualities
In a new situation, we are required to think hard and act fast when we really don’t know what we’re doing in the first place. By saying yes, we will HAVE to adjust our normal attitudes and behavior in order to adapt to the situation. We may just learn we have resilience or confidence, which we previously discounted as part of our qualities. At the end, we will have learned something new and amazing about ourselves.
Pleasant or interesting memories
Everything we go through shapes us, whether we like to admit it or not. Saying yes to new experiences will bring us unparalleled memories--pleasant or interesting. We want something to look back on in the years to come.
Our time here is short
Whoever coined the term “Live life to fullest” knew a simple yet extremely important piece of information. Our teenage years will come and go and soon our worlds will be radically different from those we currently hold. Just to have tried, to have said yes and been a part of something new, will bring smiles to our faces as we reflect on our lives. Let’s not leave a single stone unturned.
I hope that by reading this, it gives you that little push you may need to take that next step into the unknown. The result may not be perfect or at all what you expect but life is about living as best and as fully as we can. Everything is scary at first!
* Within reason: Do not be careless with your life or others’ lives.