Uncomfortable Skills by Audrey

Uncomfortable Skills by Audrey - September 2014 Scholarship Essay

It took me 23 days to feel comfortable with the sun setting in Germany at 10:30 at night, it took me 23 days to feel perfectly normal passing castles older than the United States next to the Autobahn while driving at a speed of 221 kilometers per hour, it took me 23 days to feel somewhat comfortable with the fact that everything I was eating had some sort of wiener in it, even though I am a vegetarian. And, it took me 23 days to understand that the only way to flourish in life is to be uncomfortable. Before the speeches are given and the caps are thrown, soon-to-be college freshmen should know that the world they are about to enter may be uncomfortable, but having the skills to take this discomfort and, in turn, welcome it, they may experience unforeseen and unyielding growth not only through college, but for the rest of their lives.

With the turn of my outlook after that 23rd day of my German exchange program, I realized that I had only seven more to enjoy all that Germany had to offer- or everything I hadn’t embraced because I was too consumed by my uncomfortableness. Running on the streets of San Diego? With a smile? Never. Running through wheat fields, forests, and German sunsets all while loving life? Yes. The first week of my stay, my stomach dropped sooner than my jaw at the sight of a potato-weiner-ball-thing topped with creamy sauce. Yet, on the last night of my stay I downed a schnitzel with the mysterious creamy sauce (I gave up on vegetarianism), and seven different flavored cakes. During that last week I even attended every high school class of my host student when I had previously found them uninteresting. It was there in that final week of class that I made lifetime friendships. In a geography class, they taught that California was experiencing a drought problem which was considered a human crisis to them. I uncomfortably rose my hand and stated to the teacher in my embarrassing American accent, “uh, ich habe wasser.” While the classroom erupted into laughs, including the teacher, over either my horrendous pronunciation or the fact that I just told him that I have water, I realized that I had not only wasted the past three weeks feeling uncomfortable, but I had so much more to experience, mainly because I had so much more to give and share about my part of the world.

Before it is time to step from the top of the food chain with a high school diploma in one hand and pumping a fist with the other, back to the scrappy bottom as a bright-eyed and lost freshman in college, students from all walks of life should know that in in order to grow, we should not only embrace uncomfortable situations, but purposely seek them out.

Having the skills to accept uncomfortable situations in college is the most important ability for students to gain. College throws rigorous classes, potentially-awkward social situations, ingenious professors, lively sports, spirited camaraderie, and slight home sickness into one unforgettable experience. This experience can only be dealt with if students possess the skills to navigate through the realm of uncomfortableness and into an uncovered path of boundless opportunities.

Because of Germany, I now have the skills to accept discomfort in college, and thus the skills to achieve the limitless future I had never been able to envision when I was staring at that potato-weiner-ball-thing with mysterious creamy sauce.