In an interview once, I was asked the question: “When was the last time you did something for the first time?” Till this day, this question has always seemed to pop up in my head. At that time, I was thrown off by the question, and it took me quite a while to come up with an answer. Now, still; I find myself pondering this question often.

I do not ponder this question because I do not understand it. Rather, I ponder this question because it makes me think outside the box. There is no right or wrong answer; this can lead to endless amounts of possible solutions. For myself, to personally answer this question, I had to think of a time when I actually stepped out of my comfort zone completely; for the better of course. I gave my answer that day to the person who was interviewing me, however; this question was no longer just another interview question, but rather became a lifestyle.

A lifestyle? Yes, a lifestyle. I say this because I feel as though everyone should be striving to do something for the first time. Not only does this bring a new kind of excitement to your life, but it also sparks new interest or even soon to be hobbies. When we do something new for the very first time, it often means stepping out of our comfort zones. Through my experience, although the actual idea may sound crazy, I have found that many of my best memories came from when I cracked out of my own shell. I am not necessarily saying to crack open your shell completely, right away in doing reckless things, but rather cracking open your shell by doing more subtle simpler things. No matter how large (but more importantly how small) there can always be something that can be done for the very first time.

From when I first heard that question on that day, my answer is constantly evolving. At the time, my original answer to that question was running for a pageant. Never in a million years did I think I would run for something like that. I often caught myself preferring to share the attention on stage with others rather than all by myself. I did not win the pageant, but I felt like a winner since I gained so much from that experience including memories and skills. This was all because I decided to crack open my shell a bit. Had I not made the decision to crack it open, I would not have realized that having the spotlight on you isn’t actually all that bad.

This was almost 4 months ago. I still remember it to this day and always will. I believe that day was the start of my shell starting to fully crack. I took that center of the stage feeling, and applied it elsewhere throughout my life. I am now a leader within an organization, which I hold close to heart because of it. I cracked out of my shell and tried something new. I also ‘found myself’. (For those of you that read my last article should know exactly what I mean).

So why is all of this so important? This is not about my expressions of my own memories, it is about being able to try anything new. If you could only take one thing from this article, just remember this question when was the last time you did something for the first time?

Maybe you tried a new food, listened to a new style of music, or started a new fashion trend. Whatever it may be (as Nike says) Just Do It! Do not be afraid to have that wall you built up around you knocked down. Let your imagination go wild, just think of the endless ways you could answer that question. Do not be scared to step out of your comfort zone. Crack open your shell!