Comfort within the Uncomfortable

AIESEC has always been a voice in advocating for "leaving your comfort zone", and providing opportunities to do this--whether through exchange or not--has been the greatest vehicle in which AIESEC has provided a platform for developing young people's potential. In the past four years, I consider myself to have lived in this realm of "outside my comfort zone", whether it was by being an engineer doing business or a Canadian working in a global environment. Of this, I am truly proud of myself.

What's been interesting though has been this journey in the past 5 months--post-AIESEC life. Having lived in the realm of the uncomfortable for so long, frankly it's been quite uncomforting returning to a place where I used to consider comfortable. I remember a chat with a friend in Brasov where I had told her I really wasn't interested in "settling" back in Canada for what I was to be doing next. It was of interest to continue staying out in Europe, exploring a new location and living what one might consider a more dynamic life. She responded by asking why I was so insistent that I could/should not do this in Canada, and at at moment, I could not respond.

Months later, I discover that the "AIESEC"-life was something that I was so comfortable with, and that leaving my comfort zone involved exploring new forms of growth in this non-AIESEC connected environment and working in something that could be more stable. What used to be out of my comfort zone (being abroad, traveling constantly, the ever-changing environment) was no longer. This was actually now my comfort zone and now, I am asked to leave it.

It's a fresh start. For the past years, I could be regarded as very experienced and knowledgeable in AIESEC. But now, no longer can I consider myself well-versed in what I do; I return myself to the state of a beginner, a beginner at conquering this new front. It's definitely been tough, but I've already seen quite a bit of what this new life could include, some things that I know I was missing in AIESEC and I must admit I quite like it. Not sure just exactly where I'll end up, but for now I'm quite excited to immerse myself in this new area to expand my horizons yet again...