Breaking Out of My Comfort Zone

People, especially those who are shy, tend to express themselves through activities they enjoy doing. Some are naturally inclined toward music and art, while others feel more comfortable playing sports. It can be difficult to get people to move away from the activities they excel at and experience new ones.

My weakest areas are delivering speeches and sports. Speaking and athletic performance are simply “not my thing,” but music and writing are essential components of my personality. Therefore, activities at camp such as editorial assignments and the sing-a-longs allowed me to show a bit of my personality to others.

At Ambassador Youth Camp, you are never allowed to only take part in what you enjoy. My experiences at AYC for the past four years are a perfect example of how AYC fosters an environment in which one can overcome fears and allow his individual personality to shine while experiencing new opportunities.

Throughout camp, there was a constant, remarkable exchange between campers. Someone who was stronger at an activity—for instance, throwing a perfect spiral with a football—could be regularly seen teaching someone who had never learned before how to do it. And those who were better at singing often taught those who were less musically inclined. At AYC, campers were not afraid to ask for help and often sought “experts” on certain activities to learn how they could improve.

For me, the entire camp experience was essentially one great conversation—even when no one was talking. Although I have little background in public speaking or sports, it helped to simply observe others who were better in those areas. I also had an opportunity to share my own talents with others.

Because AYC forces you to step out of your comfort zone, over the two weeks, you will often see a dramatic change in nearly every camper. In fact, some of the quietest campers on the initial day of camp tend to be the ones who talk the most during the final week of camp!

The camp atmosphere is such that one has several opportunities to express himself and to become a more open person. At camp, no one can escape having to do something that he does not particularly enjoy. The discomfort that campers experience in these scenarios is simply a signal that they are doing something they do not normally do. In my case, camp helped force me to recognize where my weaknesses were and motivated me to improve.

This year at AYC, every single person had an experience, if not many, that helped them begin to open up and realize they could step out of their comfort zone. Activities such as answering questions at Tabletopics sessions and giving full-fledged speeches (even singing during the van rides) helped me recognize the need to be more open and allowed me to better share myself with others.

Going through this process over the past four years of camp has allowed me to feel more comfortable expressing myself, despite the initial painful feeling of having to push myself to do it.

The fruits of this process were never so evident as on the last Sabbath of camp, during the final banquet. After a round of Tabletopics, a few of the older campers were asked to deliver a speech. This included me. I pushed aside any nervousness and dove right in—speaking in front of the entire camp and much of the Headquarters congregation!

I am living proof that camp pushes you to open up. Be sure that you come to AYC 2011 and step out of your comfort zone!