For people who know me personally, I’m known for staying in my comfort zone. I’ve always been like that growing up. I never really liked trying new things or doing something I’ve never done before. I’ve always played it safe. Even in high school, I wouldn’t try new things or participate in certain activities because there were some events that didn’t interest me.

I started to slowly break free from my “square” during my sophomore year. I think when I was a freshman year, I was still in my square. I think the reason why I was still in my bubble in freshman year is because I was dealing with roommate problems and my friend left Mercy in the middle of the spring semester because of personal issues.

In sophomore year, I started to dress differently. I would wear mostly jeans, but I started to wear more leggings. I started to notice that my personality was changing too, in a good way. I was becoming more outspoken. When someone said something nasty to me, I defended myself. I’m still like that, but I’m proud of it because people used to take advantage of me because of my shyness.

I think one of the biggest changes for me was trying new food. I’ve always been a picky eater. I only eat the things I like. I never wanted to try anything new. I started to eat spicy food, which I hated growing up, which is ironic because I’m Nigerian, and they use spices in everything, including rice. But I swallowed my pride, and I’m able to eat spicy food.

Now, I’ve been trying different types of food lately, especially Korean food. My first time trying Korean food was last semester with two of my friends. I tried kimchi and fried dumplings for the first time, and I really liked it. Since then, I had Korean food at least two more times, and I’m in love with it.

I started to exercise more often than I used to. Actually, I used to hate exercising. Period. I really didn’t like going to the gym. I just found exercising so boring. I know it’s a bad attitude because it’s good for your health. So, I substituted the gym for watching Zumba routines on YouTube. Plus, changing my diet and eating healthy was a new thing for me. I was able to stay away from bad sugar, and lost about 14 pounds in two months. But, I want to get over my fear of not going to the gym. I want to try and go once in a while, so I can get used to it.

Another thing that I never thought about even trying was Tinder. I never really liked the whole online dating thing because I felt like it was so sketchy. But my friend who was in Germany last semester tried it out and it worked for him. So I figured, let me give it a shot, and see what happens.

In one hour, I had about five to seven matches on Tinder. I was kind of surprised. Throughout the day, I kept swiping left. I saw at least one person I went to high school with on Tinder, and I laughed really hard. But after a day, I kind of got bored with it and deleted the app. I thought to myself, this was really stupid. But, I had a good laugh from it. Most of the guys that I saw on Tinder, I had to side-eye them a bit based on their bios. It was mostly obnoxious guys, which made me side-eye even more. I had a feeling it was going to be like this, but signing up for Tinder was out of curiosity, I wasn’t really looking for a relationship.

There are plenty things I want to try that I haven’t gotten to yet. I’m trying to learn more languages. I’m trying to learn some Korean. I can understand little word and phrases here and there, but I’m not fluent. The same goes for my mother’s language. I can understand some of it, but I can’t speak it. I want to be fluent in at least two to three languages by the time I’m 30 (just an estimate).

The last thing I always wanted to do was take dance classes. Ever since I was 8, I always wanted to do it, but my parents never had the time or money for it. I’ve been watching dance workshops lately, and it’s something I would like to do in the near future, maybe after graduation. It can be something that could keep me occupied for a bit.

I’m proud of myself for stepping out of my square once in a while. I think that it helped me become a better person. I’m not fully outside my square yet. I keep going back and forth. But, that’s okay because it tends to happen. It makes you human. I want to continue to step out of that square a bit more.