Dear Students...
And I bet you are, too. Maybe, like me, you're scared of looking silly in front of your friends, so you try not to do things that you're not so good at when you're around them (even if you want to). Maybe you don't want to be "awkward," so you avoid talking to people you don't know - just in case they think you're weird or something. Maybe you're afraid of failing, or being rejected, or being laughed at, or changing.
Well, guess what? Everyone is scared! But we have to learn to get past that.
Recently I've been trying something new. I was sick of standing on the sidelines and watching while other people did fun stuff just because I was scared. I finally realized that everyone looks silly when they try something new, and nobody really cares! And the truth is that I looked more silly watching than if I had just jumped in and had fun. So I've been dancing at parties, kayaking in the ocean, and even riding roller coasters. I've been trying to be me a little more often - or at least the me I want to be someday.
And here's what I've learned: you have to figure out what kind of person you want to be and just be that person. If you want to be the kind of person who isn't afraid to talk to new people, you have to start talking to new people! If you want to be the kind of person who isn't scared of roller coasters, you have to go on a few roller coasters. It's kind of a "fake it 'til you make it" mentality.
The other thing I've learned is that those things that scare me don't necessarily go away, but they get easier the more that I do them. So while I may not always take my own advice, I'm going to try and keep doing scary things. It's good for me, because it makes me more of who I want to be.
Yes, I'm scared of lots of things. But I'm working on not letting that run my life. And I hope you will, too.