Step Out of Your Comfort Zone

One night during my third year of college, some friends knocked on my dorm room door proclaiming, "We're going country line dancing! Let's go!" In which reality would you see a Jamaican going country line dancing in the middle of Connecticut? Apparently, in the one where your friends offer to pay for everything.

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For 2 hours straight, I sat at our table at this huge dance club refusing to help my friends make a mess of the formation of people on the dance floor. They had no clue what they were doing but were having tons of fun. I, on the other hand, didn't want to embarrass myself.

Just when I became bored, I noticed there was a mechanical bull at the back of the dance floor. Eager to harness my inner John Travolta in "Urban Cowboy", I ran over to the mechanical bull, paid the operator, and held on for dear life. While riding the bull, the operator increased the speed every 8 seconds. About 30 seconds in, people started cheering me on. I lasted just over a minute before I fell off the mechanical bull to a flourish of applause. The operator then told me most people don't usually last as long on the mechanical bull as I did.

Not only did I have fun; I also felt a sense of achievement! I was as happy as can be and that glee finally took me to the dance floor to join my friends. I ended up also enjoying country line dancing so much that my friends had to wait on me to end the night.

Five years later, I knew all the popular country line dances; got to the second-highest speed allowed in clubs on the mechanical bull; and proudly owned 3 cowboy hats, 2 belt buckles, cowboy boots, cowboy boot shoes, and a bolo tie. A couple of my friends even nicknamed me the Jamaican Hillbilly!

To think that if I never went out with my friends that night back in 2002, I would never have discovered the joy of country line dancing. It goes to show you can find joy where you least expect it.

#selfcare #selflove #minfulliving #joy #lifelessons #authenticself #havingfun #trysomethingnew