Written by CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteer Ms. Umusa Ng’oma

Winston Churchill said, “The farther backward you look, the further forward you are likely to see.”
Every day, I get to catch a glimpse of a side of myself that I didn’t know existed. A couple of months ago if someone told me that I could do some of the things I have done, I would have pegged them to be a jokester. But here I am.

A comfort zone is more or less a place or circumstance in which a person feels relaxed and safe. It is a place that enables you to just be you, nothing more.  However, there is no identifiable growth that comes from this. In the few weeks I have been on my site, I have been forced to get out of my bubble and do things that amaze even me. I have held meetings, initiated talks, inserted myself in meetings, written blogs, and more.

Let me take you back a bit, for as long as I can remember, stepping into the unknown was always scary for me.  Therefore, I would resolve to not step out at all. I was okay with just being where I was and doing the things I know. But at the same time, I yearned for growth, the growth that came with stepping into the unknown.

A friend I had made in the community once asked me how I was able to stand before a crowd and address it. It took me a minute to answer because until then, I had not realized that I do so with ease now. I no longer shiver and wish the ground would open up and swallow me whole. I had not realized that it was one thing that I dreaded the most but now had become one of those things I know to do. I had to come back to reality and respond to her that at times, you just do it afraid.
Looking back, I would do it over again because it may be out of my comfort zone, but it is taking me to a better place.