Stepping out of your Comfort Zone - Part Two

Hey Old Friend, Remember me? The girl who encouraged you to step out of your comfort zone and gave you tips about balancing your time, then when you needed her most, like the Avatar, she disappeared. Well let me apologize for disappearing, life got in the way, I won't say I did a poor job with my time management, because I have had a lot of free time in the last couple weeks but... I just wasn't feeling the motivation to write. Like yes, Sunday is coming up, yes I know I'm suppose to write a post to upload but...I just don't feel the passion to write.

If you know me then you'll know that anything that I do, I'd prefer to do it with passion or none at all. Speaking of passion, my passion for writing is a weird thing. Weird because normally, people who like to write also like to talk, which I don't like to do (for your information) but outside of that, any form of writing I have done has always been done based on a spark. If you don't understand what I mean by spark, allow me to explain. For me, a spark, is a sudden urge or motivation to perform a particular tasks. There are no boundaries or limits to what you could be doing because when that sparks hit you drop everything, and if you are me, you write. So for example, at this moment what I should be doing is work on an assignment I have due later today, however while I was doing that the spark hit and here I am working on the blog.

So enough of the chit chat. Many moons ago (yes I really just used that phrase), I wrote a post about how necessary it was, to step out of your comfort zone. Using my own experience, dabbing into pageantry as a point of reference. Now, almost a month after my first pageantry experience has come to an end, having taken my time to reflect on the experience, I have a lot to report.

So to answer the burning question of how I would rate my overall experience, I'd say it was life changing. While I would probably think twice before entering another pageant, simply because it requires a lot of sacrificing, the experience was one I wouldn't change for the world. (Please note, I still don't like wearing heels and you really shouldn't expect to see me wearing them anytime soon; but on the bright side I think I've mastered wearing false eyelashes, even though I still cry every time I have to take them off).

Prior to entering the pageant, I had my own preconceived notions of pageantry and what the experience would be like. While I've always seen pageantry as more than just a beauty competition, I always felt like it was the kind of thing anyone can do. That, I was definitely wrong about. Not for the reason you think, it has nothing to do with looks or body type. In fact, pageantry isn't for everyone, simply because not everyone has the discipline it requires.

For those who don't know, pageantry is way more than you see on the Final Night. For regular pageants, contestants can spend weeks practicing. Not to mention international pageants, that have contestants training for months on end. Pageantry encompasses many areas of life from grace and poise, to sports and talent, which is why I'll say it again, it is definitely not for everyone (its the kind of thing that may just end up tearing your self confidence completely down before giving you the chance to build it back up. Especially if you are competitive by nature, yet find yourself losing in all the preliminary competitions). Believe me when I say it is not for the weak at heart and it is the kind of life experience that will make you or break you (never before have I ever been tempted to lose my shit, like I was during training). That said, it is also the kind of experience that will impact the person you become later in life.

Despite the advice I had been given from people I'd known who had entered pageants before, I did not believe that once the experience had ended I would've actually gained "pageant" sisters. I'd like to describe myself as a introverted extrovert. I'm not overly social neither am I friendly. Yet, somehow I winded up gaining sisters I never thought I would in a very unlikely place and I'm grateful for that.

This experience having stepped out of my comfort zone helped me learn a lot more about myself. Like the fact that I am more disciplined than I think, that I am determined to do my best in everything I do and most importantly, I have the ability to inspire and motivate others to become the best version of themselves. Again you're probably wondering how did she gain so much from this experience? The answer, I went into pageantry with an open mindset. It was never for me about winning (which I in fact, did not do, I placed in the Top 8) but more so about what I stood to gain from the experience. As such, to anyone that is ready to take that next step in life and journey outside of their comfort zone, my advice is to do so with an open mind.

As always thank you for reading. Don't forget to like, share, comment and subscribe. See you guys in my next post!!!