An Appetite for Adventure
I once lived a sheltered life in a quiet city where there were not many things to get excited about. After spending a year in a large metropolis, I learned to appreciate the beauty of nature and found myself surrounded by many new things that I had never been exposed to before. To be more specific, this new environment revealed a part of me that I had never noticed before, a self with a thirst for the unknown.
During my first year there, I tried countless new and adventurous things. Although they might not be compared to climbing the Himalayas, it meant that I would have to step out of my comfort zone. For example, as part of a training program, I had to jump off of a platform about four stories high. For entertainment, because the fees were low in the city, I went to several concerts and watched as many operas as I could. I once gave a speech to a large audience in a foreign language. I traveled overseas on my own, met new pen pals, and chatted with strangers. I went to an overseas Zen camp and learned about a new philosophy together with other young people from around the world.
In the past, I always looked at anything unfamiliar with apprehension, and shied away from it as a result. But now I know that trying new things won't kill you, nor will the embarrassment or failure that may come along. Every time you try something new, you are pushing your boundary (or boundaries) forward and expanding your world. You never know what you are capable of if you don’t try. In my case, I never knew that it would be OK for me to wander alone on an exotic land, that I could appear so calm and in control speaking in public, that I could make friends with people from different cultural backgrounds. Every time you venture into a new area, whatever the result, there will always be a gratifying sense of achievement.
A word that cropped up in lecture comes across my mind from time to time. A professor of mine once spoke of the lasting effect of someone’s experiences in his “formative” years. Now I can say that I am grateful for having developed an appetite for adventure in my formative phase of life. And once the momentum starts, it never stops.
I rearranged Tom's correction for the convience for the other learners.
What a great essay this is! The correction is also great.
Self-correction
A word that cropped up in a lecture came come across my mind from time to time.