By Roslyn Rotan
Ask a highly successful person how they were able to reach their peak and they will tell you “It wasn’t easy.” I have learned that people must put themselves in uncomfortable and difficult situations to grow. Meeting new people, gaining new experiences, and working toward success is only capable if a person is willing to experience some discomfort. Feeling discomfort is completely normal and could make us become better people. When people are constantly comfortable they can miss out on opportunities and their minds aren’t able to grow. When given the choice between being comfortable or uncomfortable, I will always choose some discomfort if it means I get the chance to grow.
Following your dreams often seems difficult, but everyone is capable if they are willing to accept a little bit of discomfort. If that is traveling to a place we always wanted to go to or changing to a new career path, being uncomfortable helps us grow to achieve our goals and improve ourselves. My cousin, who is a traveler, has been to both France and Brazil and gave me some good advice. She said that the best experiences in her life happened when she was alone. She traveled to different places all by herself and although it can be scary, and she was likely uncomfortable at times, she did it anyway. She did it because she knew if she didn’t she might miss out on an amazing experience. If she didn’t travel by herself she would have never met her future husband. Her story is very inspirational to me because she has demonstrated that putting yourself in uncomfortable situations can change your life for the better.
When I was 14, my mother made a risky decision to move from Florida to Ohio. My family was afraid of this big change because we weren’t positive we were making the right decision. When I got to Ohio, I felt uncomfortable and out of place. I have always been a somewhat shy person and was afraid of what others might think of me. Being a freshman in high school is not easy. Being a freshman in a new high school, in a new state, during the COVID pandemic was a great recipe for discomfort. I had to battle my way through it. There really was no other way. I had to shift from a warm climate to a cold one, from a big city to a small town. Learning how to manage these changes despite the discomfort helped me to grow. It pushed my limits and I noticed that slowly my feeling of discomfort was being replaced with a feeling of empowerment. I took my chances and started talking to people. I joined the fast pitch team. I took the 3D Design class. Eventually I even started working at a local coffee shop. None of this happened in a snap. But none of it could have happened without learning how to work through some discomfort. This has become a way of thinking for me. When I consider my options for next year, I will not choose the most comfortable option but the more challenging one. I am headed to the University of North Carolina in Wilmington. I have discovered that consistently choosing to make myself a little uncomfortable no longer scares me. It gets easier every time. Or maybe, I am just getting better at it.
Roslyn Rotan is the daughter of Andrea Rotan and Curtis Rotan. She plans to go to UNCW in the fall to study nursing. She is looking forward to meeting new people, spending time at the beach, and maybe even learning to surf.
