Riding a bike without training wheels is a uniquely exciting and yet intimidating experience in nearly every child’s lifetime. Many can still remember the anticipation felt when watching the wheels on their bikes disappear one by one; many recall the slight uneasiness that came with gripping the handlebars for the first time and feeling the tremble of the transformed object beneath them. Of course, such a transition rarely comes easily and is often accompanied by an endless supply of band-aids and tears.
However, after all is said and done, the struggles and the wheels are almost always stored away and forgotten. Similarly in life, it is important to accept challenges and be willing to set goals that exceed one’s comfort zone. As human beings, we often find ourselves dependent on the safety of our “training wheels,” and are burdened by the limitations we place on ourselves. However, it is imperative that we learn to break free of these borders and pursue higher goals as sources of personal growth.
By overcoming our fears, we may discover hidden strengths and talents and defeat the obstacles that keep us from gliding freely through life. One of the greatest struggles that often leads to greater personal growth is overcoming the perceived limitations that we impose upon ourselves. As a rather quiet kid in elementary and middle school, I used to avoid public speaking and lacked confidence in my communication skills. I was convinced that public speaking was my weakness, even before I had given myself the opportunity to really try it.
For so many years, I was hindered by this boundaryl established for myself, and was unwilling to step outside of my comfort zone in an attempt to overcome my fear. However, in high school, I was determined to work on improving my speaking abilities and did so by joining Speech Team in my sophomore year. At least once a month, 1 would attend regional competitions and competed in the “Scripted Duo” category. At first, my performances were shaky and my speeches were nowhere near perfect.
However, I continued to take the judges’ critiques and gradually improved with each competition. Over the course of the season, I learned to project my voice, convincingly portray characters, and most importantly, have confidence in my words. From my experience with Speech Team, I discovered communication to actually be one of my greatest strengths, rather than my weaknesses. Since then, this skill has been applied to several other aspects in my life and has opened me up to many different interests and activities such as Indianapolis Model United Nations and Mock Trial Team.
In addition to personal restrictions, we often encounter growth by challenging others’ perspectives and exceeding their impressions of our boundaries. In the novel Paper Towns, by John Green, Quentin Jacobsen is not the typical protagonist, as he lacks the adventurous and daring personality that is generally associated with a hero. Viewed by the other characters of the novel as quiet and obedient, Quentin strays far from his comfort zone and challenges others’ opinions of him, as he embarks on a long journey to find his friend, Margo Roth Spiegelman.
In this coming of age novel, Quentin transforms drastically and embraces an aspect of his personality that had not existed prior to his great adventure. By countering the image that his friends and family had of him throughout the book, Quentin becomes a much stronger person and eventually realizes all that he is capable of. While conquering the constraints that are established by ourselves and others are quite significant, personal growth can also be accomplished through triumphs over society’s limitations on a person.
This past year, I became a “Peer Mentor” in my orchestra program’s United Sound Club. United Sound is a nonprofit organization that allows students to teach their peers with intellectual or developmental disabilities to play musical instruments. From teaching these incredible students to play the violin and be a part of an orchestra, I feel as though | have witnessed the true meaning of bravery, perseverance, and motivation. Although society often tends to place so many restrictions on special needs students, the students never allow these restrictions to hold them back in any way.
By proving society wrong and accomplishing goals that are beyond their comfort zones and often not expected of them, these United Sound members have attained a tremendous amount of confidence that allows them to succeed in many other areas of their lives. They truly embody the popular proverbial phrase, “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade” and prove that so much can be gained by escaping the borderlines of restraint. While establishing high standards for oneself is crucial in life, some may argue that it is better to “play it safe,” and avoid the risk of failure.
For many, the possibility of failure is more concerning than a lack in personal growth and the costs of embarrassment far exceeds any benefits of the discovery of strengths. Although it is reasonable to fear failure, it is also important to realize that each time an opportunity is not taken, one is not only eliminating the capability for failure to occur, but is also disposing of any chance for success.
As Wayne Gretzky once said, “You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take. This quote proves that by refusing to accept any challenges or obstacles in life, one is inadvertently sacrificing his or her potential to growth and success. I learned this idea through many of my personal examples. As mentioned earlier, had it not been for certain risks that I have taken throughout my life to try to improve my skills, I would have missed out on countless opportunities that have helped me to gain confidence and shaped me into who I am today.
Although we may face any number of obstacles from ourselves, others, and society, it is crucial that we seek these hallenges as opportunities to grow. While training wheels may be helpful at first to allow ourselves to gain a sense of balance, we must not rely on the things with which we feel most comfortable in life. Rather, we must make the conscious decision to take the training wheels off of our bikes and enjoy the freedom that comes with surpassing expectations. As individuals, we must learn to appreciate the experiences in our lives that leads us to discover our strengths and determine who we really are.
